Jerry Thorne I've been a fan of this movie since it was first released, well, since I first saw it anyway. I'm not a guy comfortable with the display of emotions, however, this movie does have a tendency to draw them out of me. A movie telling a story about a kid who by all accounts appears to have everything going for him just can't cope and decides to take the easy way out and kill himself.The emotional value for me is particularly in one scene, where Keanu Reeves is driving drunk, and when confronted he breaks down in tears, the common emotions "I should have known" Well, this movie brings up all of these emotions for me being as I have been surrounded by death, within a week of working my first job I discovered the body of a man who committed suicide, my best friend died at a young age, my pregnant fiancé was killed in a car accident, couple other friends committed suicide.So this movie will always carry a special meaning for me, I tend to watch it a couple of times a year at which time I reflect upon those that I have lost. (Yes, I always watch it alone)

dansview I loved this picture,and I am very hard on movies. I like when actors convey genuine emotions without affectation. These ones kept it real, and most have barely been heard of since.Interestingly, adversity brings depth and character to one's high school career. Without it, it's just classes and parties. This group, in addition to being seemingly "working class," experienced the loss of a friend and icon.This dramatic event forced them to ponder some deeper questions of life and death, and to look inward to the meaning of their own lives. When I was in high school, nothing happened, and I don't remember meeting one single person with depth, or even any interest in acquiring depth.All the actors were way past high school age. That's a common phenomenon, but the effect is to make us view high school students as essentially adults. In real life, they look and act younger and dumber than the actors who play them. Some of the girls were 25-27.Nevertheless, I admired the way these kids were engaged in life and school. They have friends, relationships, a school play, hard classes, extra curricular activities, and cars. There are high school kids who are fully engaged like this for sure.I also liked the idea of an accessible Principal or Dean. Those guys are educators, but most of us saw them as annoyances when we were young.The huge failing of this picture was the pathetically weak build-up to the lost friend's suicide. He felt overwhelmed by the pressure to be productive, so he jumps off a cliff? I know that he may have been drinking, but I just don't buy it. Having said that, the movie really wasn't about that. It was about his suicide's effect on those he left behind.I think that it affected the other kids so deeply, not because they knew him well and loved him..although Keanu did, but because he was a teen icon to them. He was a rock, even to those who just admired him from afar, because he represented stability, confidence, capability, success, and opportunity. One character mentions that notion. (If David couldn't make it, what chance do the rest have, who don't have even half his ability and talent?) The film shows the kids in Portland and the beach constantly, as if those two places are close to one another. They are not. So I am assuming that they lived somewhere between Portland and the beach and frequented both places. I liked the exterior shots at the beach and in the city, with a "light rail" system.I couldn't stand the sappy, sentimental song solo at the end. But I suppose that the character was determined to memorialize David (suicide character), by singing his composition, even though it was in the midst of an established classic play. (David had been working on this song for his band to record) I didn't really believe the blonde who had been David's sex partner. I get the idea that a busy guy like him didn't really have time for a relationship, but she looked too worldly and old. If you look her up, you will see that she was some kind of beauty queen in real life, and was pushing 27 in the film.I also did not get the Jennifer Rubin character. If she wasn't David's girlfriend, then who was she? He didn't seem the slightest bit interested in her. I guess she just admired him enormously.I did however love the way one actress portrayed Keanu Reeve's girlfriend. She was quirky and genuinely supportive and involved in people's lives. She tried to be a good girlfriend, despite her boyfriend's eccentricities, she was trying to find herself through writing, and she tried earnestly to memorialize David. Great job by this girl who played a sex role in Valley Girl 5 years earlier.Everyone has already complimented Reeves for his break-down crying scene. I will too. The guy has considerably more talent than most people give him credit for. I like his natural way, although I admit that he repeated it several times in the 80s.Good flick.

alexken "Permanent Record" has two possibilities to be rescue, when almost 15 years has passed before the production. One, for the teenagers fans of Keanu Reeves; the another one, for any kind of people who has been near the suicide of a loved one. This second point of view is that must keep in our minds: the film shows the culpability feeling of people that lives and loves one person that has been chased the suicide like a getaway of his problems. Nobody understands him, nobody knows the reason of his death election, and this is the most remarkable of this film. Isn't it a pity the final, the worst final sentimental teenager option of the director? See and think about it

soulcourageous this is a really solid film, especially for teens i think. i haven't seen it in years so i'm not sure how well it holds up or if it would still appeal to a now-30 year old, but i was really moved by it back then. keanu is obviously much younger but he brings a tremendous amount of complexity to his role as the close friend of a charcter who takes his own life unexpectedly. the film deals with the aftermath of suicide amongst other complicated issues. along with "river's edge", this is one of the darker teen-related films of the era and just as absorbing imho. definitely worth a look if only for the historical aspect of keanu's filmography.