Today’s quick review: Holes. Wrongfully convicted of stealing a pair of shoes, teenager Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) is sentenced to eighteen months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile work camp where the Warden (Sigourney Weaver) forces the boys to dig holes in the desert. There, Stanley makes friends with a quiet boy named Zero (Khleo Thomas) and uncovers a long-buried secret.
Holes is a family adventure based on the book by Louis Sachar. Shia LaBeouf stars as Stanley, an ordinary boy who has to get used to living and digging at a desert work camp. Unlike some other family movies, Holes is well-grounded. The characters and conditions at Camp Green Lake are entirely believable, and there’s no slapstick or overt humor. Instead, the movie engages the viewer with Stanley’s journey and the secret behind the camp.
At the center of Holes is a mystery spanning generations. Stanley’s family believes that it was cursed by the actions of Stanley’s ancestor, causing everything from his father’s career troubles to Stanley’s wrongful arrest. Meanwhile, Camp Green Lake has secrets of its own, which are told through flashbacks throughout the movie. The way these puzzle pieces combine gives Holes an interesting story with a rewarding payoff.
Give Holes a shot when you’re in the mood for a prison drama without the bleakness. Seeing Stanley adapt to his surroundings and connect with Zero makes for a satisfying character arc, while the mystery of the camp gives the characters something concrete to interact with. The result is a relatively mature kids’ movie that tells a balanced and engaging story.
For a more fanciful movie about a child in a bad situation, check out Matilda. For a more mature prison drama, try The Shawshank Redemption or The Last Castle. For a more comedic tale of imprisonment and escape, try Chicken Run.
7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for an original premise and a well-told story.