Spring Breakers (2012)
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Four college-aged girls embark on a wild spring break in Florida that spirals into a world of drugs, crime, and violence.
The story
College students Brit, Candy, and Cotty are joined by their friend Faith as they prepare for spring break. Lacking the funds to travel, Brit and Candy resort to a desperate crime: robbing a local restaurant to fund their trip. They are joined by Cotty, who assists in the heist. Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, Florida, the four girls enter a hedonistic lifestyle of beach parties and drugs. Their situation takes a turn when they are arrested and subsequently bailed out by Alien, a local drug hustler and arms dealer who takes them under his wing, leading them into a dangerous underworld.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being bailed out by Alien, a drug hustler and arms dealer, the girls are taken to a club and later to Alien's mansion. While Faith feels uncomfortable and eventually leaves the group to return to college alone, the other three remain. Alien flaunts his wealth and weapons, and the girls eventually arm themselves with shotguns. During a period of armed robberies, Cotty is wounded in a drive-by shooting by Alien's rival, Big Arch, and chooses to leave the group to return to school. Brit and Candy remain with Alien, eventually engaging in a trilateral relationship. In a final confrontation, the two remaining girls travel to Big Arch's mansion. Alien is killed by guards, and Brit and Candy kill the remaining gang members, including Big Arch. The film ends with the two girls driving to college in a luxury car, having 'discovered who they truly are' after a series of violent events.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Harmony Korine
- Writers
- Harmony Korine · writer
- Cast and characters
- James Franco · Alien; Selena Gomez · Faith; Vanessa Hudgens · Candy; Ashley Benson · Brit; Rachel Korine · Cotty; Gucci Mane · Archie
- Genres
- crime drama
- Themes
- loss of innocence; hedonism; drug culture
- Tone and mood
- sensory; beach noir
- Premise and plot tags
- spring break; drug trade; buddy film
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the acting and cinematography. It has been described as a cult classic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 67% · scale: percentage · review count: 200; Metacritic · score: 63 · scale: 100 · review count: 40
- Awards and nominations
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award · Best Supporting Actor · win; National Society of Film Critics Award · Best Supporting Actor · win; San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award · Best Supporting Actor · win; Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association · Best Supporting Actor · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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