Levelland (2003)

A group of disaffected youth struggle to find meaning as they skateboard through the backyard pools and strip malls of suburban Texas in LEVELLAND, the directorial debut of frequent Richard Linklater collaborator Clark Walker. Zach (Matt Barr) embarks upon an affair with his high school English teacher Sally (Marie Black) while worrying about his mother's job and his increasingly depressed older brother Nick (Lathan McKay). Derrick (Logan Camp) rebels against his domineering father, who would rather his son play football than waste time skateboarding. Steve (Erik Ostos) hides his immigrant identity while looking for a way out of his family's crushing poverty. And tomboy Betty (Jessica Schwartz) contends with the loneliness and confusion that stems from being the only female in a male-dominated sport. Set to a vibrant punk soundtrack that includes The Minutemen, Replacements, and Meat Puppets, LEVELLAND fuses the typical coming-of-age genre with an authentic document of skateboarding culture for a revealing portrait of unconventional American adolescent angst.