“A Better Place” plays like a very dark “After School Special”. Following the death of his father, Barret (Robert DiPatri) moves to a new town, and soon find that it’s not easy being the new kid. He becomes friends with Ryan (Eion Bailey, who played Jann Wenner in “Almost Famous”), a misanthropic young man who everyone else in school avoids. Ryan is an orphan, who lives with his bossy aunt. He hates the world and sees himself as a philosopher, but allows himself to become friends with Barret. Barret also becomes friends with Augustine (Caremn Llywellyn, Jason Lee’s wife), much to the chagrin of Ryan. Despite his troubled past, Ryan seems to be getting his life together with Barret’s help. Then, tragedy strikes, as an event occurs which sends Ryan over the edge, leaving his violent side to take control, which Barret can only watch, helpless to do anything.

“A Better Place” is truly a toss-up. On the positive side, you’ve got a film which takes an unflinching look at disenfranchised youth and the atrocities which can occur in high-school. The finale in particular seems to have been ripped from today’s headlines. Eion Bailey is very good as Ryan, showing the apathy and rage that can seethe in a teenage boy. For a film which was shot for just $40,000, “A Better Place” looks good. But, that low-budget atmosphere hurts the film as well. Some of the acting is very bad, and View Askew veteran Vincent Pereira, who wrote, directed, produced, and edited “A Better Place”, clearly hasn’t learned much about filmmaking from his mentor Kevin Smith, as he makes some of the same shooting and editing mistakes which Smith made on “Clerks”. (I know Smith made these mistakes because he points them out on the “Clerks” commentary.) Also, I can see how some would find the characters in “A Better Place” as very stereotypical and one-dimensional. Despite its flaws, “A Better Place” is a promising debut from Pereira, and I look forward to his future films.

Despite the fact that the DVD cover art promises a widescreen transfer, “A Better Place” is presented full-frame for all intents and purposes. The film is shown in an aspect ratio of 1.5:1, which means that there is a sliver of black showing at the top and bottom of the screen. The film was transferred from the original A/B roll 16mm color negatives, and it looks very good. There is only a small amount of grain present, which is impressive for a 16mm transfer. The image is sharp and clear, and the colors look very nice for a low-budget film such as this. There are some defects from the source print visible, but they don’t detract from the viewing experience. The audio on the DVD is a newly created (at Skywalker Sound) Dolby Digital 5.1 channel track. This soundtrack is quite impressive, as it offers clear and audible dialogue and nearly constant surround sound action. Actually, this track is a bit overwhelming at times. Do I need to hear every bird in the neighborhood in a subtle dramatic film?

The DVD includes an audio commentary which features Periera and stars Robert DiPatri, Brian Lynch, and Joseph Cassese. This is an entertaining track, as this quartet obviously became close while making the film and share many detailed filled anecdotes about the production here. There are 8 deleted scenes, which can be viewed with or without commentary by Periera. Some of these are actually extended scenes from the film. Of the lot, scenes #6 and #7 are the best, and help to flesh out the film. Finally, we have an audio mix comparison, where one can compare the original mono mix with the new Skywalker Remix in three different chapters. You have the option of watching one and then the other, but it’s easier just to switch tracks within the scene using the “Audio Function” control on your remote.