The Basketball Diaries

REVIEW
Jim Carroll's underground, autobiographical novel depicting his young adult years as a drug addict has compelling moments of anguish and alienation, but this screen adaptation falls short in its dramatic foundation. Whereas Carroll's book took place in the mid-1960s and defined a generational mindset, the story has been ill-advisedly updated to the 1990s where counterculture ritual and spirit are at odds with MTV sensibilities. The strength of the film lies in the simplicity of the intimate relationships it develops between Carroll and his mates. As one of them, Wahlberg is especially good as an abused teen who crosses the line. In examining the lives of streetwise teens living on the mean streets of New York, The Basketball Diaries covers little new ground; but Carroll's vivid perspective on camaraderie and his harrowing search for redemption are at the heart of a film whose voice is muted but aware.