The In Crowd

Anarchists ponder how to contain crime in a free society without recourse to the authority of law and suggest that public opinion and social stigma might do the trick - but with the qualm that majority opinion can exert its own tyranny. Few would expect this dilemma to be expressed in the post-teen pulp currently favoured by Hollywood, but with their hermetic social universe, marginalised authority figures and rapt attention to the dynamics of the peer group, such films provide an oddly expedient test model. There are two salient moments in this tacky 'beautiful set' thriller concerning mistrust and treachery among a South Carolina beachside country club clique, which together demonstrate the twin sides of the anarchist dilemma. Assigned probationary work at the club, Adrien (Heuring), an ex-delinquent, is falsely arrested for a grisly crime of passion. She makes a walk of shame past the massed ranks of her putative new pals, and the film's avid attention to the silent stares speaks louder and more sincerely than anything else in this befuddled romp. Later, of course, justice prevails and in a mirroring scene, the crowd's censure is redirected at the true villain of the piece, whose look of exposed terror suggests punishment is already in effect. Elsewhere, there's little noteworthy.