A Portland tone poem

Paranoid Park, the latest film by Portlander Gus Van Sant, opens with a long, achingly stunning shot of the St. John’s Bridge. Cars careen by quickly, and leaves flutter in the wind as the clouds loom above Portland.

This is the setting for the story of Alex, a regular 16-year-old. Like everyone he knows, his parents are going through a divorce. He is apathetic to the war in Iraq. His girlfriend wants to give up her virginity. And he skateboards, trying to fit in at the mecca of the local skateboarding scene, Paranoid Park (we know it as the Burnside Skate Park).

Alex’s usual life ends when he is entangled in “something outside of normal life …stuff.”

The “stuff,” Alex tells his friend, concerns the death of a security guard, and the subsequent police investigation. But he doesn’t get into specifics. In fact, Alex doesn’t say much to anyone the entire film. Mostly we hear him as the narrator trying to piece together his involvement in what local news channels are calling a murder. He has trouble keeping the story straight in his head, leading to a fractured narrative for the film–it’s also Van Sant at his best. Based on the novel of the same name by Blake Nelson, Paranoid Park is a potent tale of emotional repression, and teen alienation.

The opening shot of St. John’s Bridge, and later, the Steel Bridge, nominates Paranoid Park to be the most “Portland” of Portland-set movies. Sure, there have been others before, most notably Van Sant’s past films like Drugstore Cowboy. But Paranoid Park is in a league of its own: Jackpot Records, street kids, Half and Half coffee shop (Hey, that barista makes me sandwiches!), vintage bikes, KOIN 6 News–all of it’s there as Alex travels around town trying to avoid his own guilt and paranoia.

The visual entertainment isn’t based only on the familiar scenery. Van Sant employs longtime Wong Kar-Wai cinematographer Christopher Doyle to shoot the movie. His skill with the camera shows.

Many of the people who disliked Van Sant’s last three films, the “Death Trilogy” (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days), will dislike Paranoid Park for many of the same reasons. There are long shots and a lack of a tight, fast-moving narrative structure.

The visuals are supplemented by an ultra-eclectic, and yes, very Portland, soundtrack. It features locals Cool Nutz, Elliott Smith, Menomena, as well as Nina Rota of Godfather and Fellini fame, and atmospheric glitch-pop to go along with the heavenly skateboarding scenes.

Of Van Sant’s three most recent films, Paranoid Park bears the closest resemblance to 2003’s Elephant. Structurally, they are both out of linear sequence. Scenes are repeated almost verbatim, but with another piece of the narrative puzzle revealed each time.

This works better in Paranoid Park, partly because it is less a formal choice, and more a characterization of how Alex tries to recreate his story, and the difficulty he has communicating it in his writing.

It’s also apparent that Van Sant, who is also credited as the editor, has learned a few things in the post-production room. And again, he’s chosen non-actors that end up doing a better job than most professionals.

Paranoid Park will also win over many past skeptics with the marriage of the expressionistic work of Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy” to the more classic mode of storytelling that marked the acclaimed director’s earlier career.

Like Van Sant, young Alex also has “stuff” that’s been brewing in him for a while, and it makes for a compelling film.

Paranoid ParkSpecial benefit screeningFeb. 18 at 6:30 p.m.Whitsell Auditorium $12