Photo Courtesy Sundance Film Festival

In a warmly lit room, the day before his high school graduation, teenage dope dealer Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) sits in an office with his shrink Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley). As the two awkwardly chat, Shapiro hands over a quarter of smoke, and Squires whips out a bong. Even in its opening Jonathan Levine's superb and striking sophomore feature The Wackness plays at turns with the sentimental and the ridiculous. A dual coming-of-age story and platonic love song between these two men, the film leans equally on a traditional and solidly organized story structure of male bonding and experimental flourishes that visually expand Shapiro's adolescent internal monologue. It's a completely engaging feature, boasting a phenomenal hip-hop and rap soundtrack, stunning cinematography and bullet proof performances by a solid and focused cast.

When Shapiro learns about his family's imminent eviction from their Upper East Side apartment, he rallies the streets more aggressively, an objective confused by Squires' mid-life crisis and a love interest with the shrink's stepdaughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). As intimacies develop, and the loner teen finds his stability shaken, The Wackness questions the lines between optimism and pessimism, living in the moment and living constantly in a dream. In pulling off the angst of uncertainty, Peck plays his moments with a remarkable tenderness that restrains itself from overblown sentimentality. Like Thirlby's magnificent performance, Peck's subtle expressions in quiet moments speak endearing volumes. In a turn away from his token seriousness, Kingsley molds Squires with an energetic and infectious irreverence, making for a character who simultaneously feels the effects of laughter and desperation. As minor characters Mrs. Squires (Famke Janssen), Union (Mary Kate Olson) and Method Man, all actors put in solid performances, particularly Olson whose free-wheeling generosity of spirit renders her hippie Union a pleasure to watch.

Cinematographer Petra Korner's lighting and composition completely complements the story, making meaningful scenes which could have faltered in the eyes of a lesser artist, and similarly, editor Josh Noyes gathers the film moments into a rhythm that propels a connection to the story pathos, although experimental transition segments do at times distract the flow. Standout in crafting is a final film segment of Shapiro and Squires at the ocean, which between Korner and Noyes plays out in a disorienting longing.

While not wholly original or unforgettable, The Wackness entertains without falter, adding to Levine's filmography perfectly. This is a director from whom we should expect great things. His showing here is an absolute pleasure.