Keanu's Permanent Record : An Underrated Keanu Reeves Flick

These days, when people think of Keanu Reeves, they think of the movie Speed or The Matrix movies. I loved his movie The Lakehouse. However, I personally preferred Keanu in his "surfer dude" stage. When he sported the longer hair and played the slightly ditsy guy roles. It's true, he has come a long way since then but I have to say I really enjoyed those movies.

One of his lesser known role, was that of Chris Townsend in the movie Permanent Record. His role was serious, not goofy like his roles in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, yet he still had his grungy surfer type look going on. Permanent Record is the story of a guy named David Sinclair. Davis is a popular and extremely talented kid. He seems to have his life in order. Everything is perfect. He will be possibly be going to a great college in the fall and his band has reserved some studio time to record a few songs. His life is pretty perfect. Or so everyone around him thought. If you pay attention, you notice that David does not seem to be as happy as one should be who is in his position. At one point he even seems to sadly reach out to his younger brother. He clings to him and hugs him as if he will never see him again. Yet he says nothing. He tells no one what thoughts are running through his head.

It is no surprise that when David falls off of a cliff during a party, everyone mourns his death and are in complete shock, believing it has to be an accident. His best friend Chris (Reeves)mourns him the most. When it is found out that David didn't fall, he jumped, Chris and everyone around him are left with so many questions unanswered.

Keanu Reeves gives an excellent and heartwarming performance in this film. Now I like Keanu, but I have to admit that alot of his performances are so non personal, almost monotone. In this film, he shows emotions that I have never seen him show in any other films. We see him cry, get angry, show joy, be funny, all of it. I'd love to see him be like that again.

A girl named Lauren, played by Jennifer Ruben of Nightmare on elm street 3, is a girl who had a big crush on David. She followed him around the night he died, trying to urge up the courage to talk to him. She seems to take his death incredibly hard, thinking about it too often. Obsessing about it to the point where she feels she wants to die herself.

Chris and Lauren and a bunch of other classmates of David's request to the principle that they have a memorial for David at the school. The principle agrees but then has to cancel the affair because the super intendant doesn't think it is a wise choice to glorify the death of a 'suicide.' The students fight for there rights and find a way to make the school music that Lauren is in memorialize David in the end. There is a beautiful song written by David that Chris writes Lyrics to. Lauren sings it at the end of the movie. It is impossible not to tear up. This is a must see movie if you are a Keanu Fan from before The Matrix. Rent Permanent Record. The Permanent Record Soundtrack is also a great find. It may be easier to purchase these items online, as the movie and soundtrack are extremely hard to find in stores. I think the person who made this movie must have ignored the "Bill And Ted" typecasting, as it was in between Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey. I am glad they did.