The Chocolate War

Yesterday, I talked about actor Keith Gordon's screenwriting debut Static. Not too long after that, Gordon gave up acting to pursue directing. His first feature was the dark, teen film, 1988's The Chocolate War.

Based on Robert Cormier's classic novel, The Chocolate War tells the story of Jerry Renault, Illan Mitchell Smith, a new student at a Catholic high school. He is an outsider who is dealing with the death of his mother. The Vigils, a secret student society, have targeted Jerry and tell him to refuse to sell chocolates in the school chocolate drive. This flairs up the temper of the already abusive headmaster Brother Leon, John Glover. To avoid the wrath of Brother Leon, Archie, Wally Ward, the leader of The Vigils, tells Jerry that he needs to start selling the chocolates. Tired of the system that The Vigils and Brother Leon have created, Jerry continues to refuse, putting him in the line of fire from not only Brother Leo, but The Vigils as well.

The Chocolate War was one of my favorite reads in junior high. It was right up there with S.E. Hinton's Rumble Fish and Paul Zindel's The Pigman. Cormier can be a tricky transition from page to screen. Case in point was 1983's dreadful adaptation of his terrific novel I Am The Cheese. But Gordon, who also wrote the screenplay, really gets the material and has made a great adaptation.

The film is really well cast, especially character actor Glover who is the perfect choice for Brother Leon. He has always had a real talent in playing slick and menacing. And it's on full display here.Smith is a nice fit for the quiet Jerry. And Ward has a sleazy menace as Archie.

The soundtrack is pretty awesome as well. Yaz, Peter Gabriel, and Kate Bush all contributed songs. Gordon really wanted David Bowie's Heroes over the closing credits, but it came with a hefty pricetag, so they opted for Kate Bush's Running Up The Hill, which I think is a nice fit.

The only drawback is that the film has a more upbeat ending than the novel. But if you are a fan of the book, don't let that deter you from seeing this. It's still a powerful film in it's own right.

It's available on dvd.