FILM REVIEW: "The King of Staten Island" takes the throne
In my early 20’s, late into what I would define as my adolescence, I thought that life was a path that had a beginning and an end. You finish school, leave home, meet new people, get a job, find love and if lucky, pass away with those close to you nearby. It wasn’t until I experienced losing someone close to me for the first time that I realised that life doesn’t simply progress from point A to point B, rather it must be navigated, like a web, filled with triumphs and traps.
Every significant moment of change throughout life can be mercilessly swift, but it can also be deceptively gradual. The King of Staten Island conveys this wonderfully, both on paper and in execution. Based partially on actor and comedian Pete Davidson’s own experiences with loss and grief, The King of Staten Island follows Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson), who lives with his mother, Margie (Marisa Tomei) and his sister Claire (Maude Apatow). When Scott was young, his firefighter dad tragically passed away whilst on duty, and he’s been struggling to come to terms with the loss ever since.
Our first introduction to Scott is an unexpectedly sobering one. Whilst he’s candid, he’s not entirely honest; and being open and honest are two different things. We see him hanging out with his friends yet amongst the hilarity of the banter, there is an underlying current of alienation, causing Scott to occasionally withdraw. This isn’t just the case with his friends but also his family.
Life in the Carlin household remains in a kind of stasis until Margie meets Ray Bishop (Bill Burr) and they hit things off. As the relationship blossoms, Scott is suspicious of Ray and is determined to get to the bottom of it. Naturally, Scott’s efforts backfire to a hilarious and catastrophic degree.
Trauma and depression are no doubt delicate themes to tackle, thankfully, screenwriters Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson and Dave Sirus do a wonderful job exploring the insidious nature of trauma, and its unique effect on individuals. Scott’s mum, Margie, struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband and the prospect of opening up to another partner, whilst Scott’s sister Claire, worries that something could happen to her family if she leaves for college.
The family’s loss ripples throughout their relationships beyond the family dynamic. A notable example of this is the romantic relationship between Scott and his friend Kelsey (Bel Powley). When Kelsey expresses her desire to move into a more committed relationship, Scott is apprehensive due to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. The way their relationship evolves over the course of the film is handled with care, managing to be both sincere but not shying away from accountability.
What I love about The King of Staten Island is how everything is the sum of its parts. Some scenes in isolation may feel trivial or maybe even uneventful, some characters may only get a minuscule amount of screen time and things may feel unresolved towards the end of the film but that is the point. Life is continuously unravelling, we see ourselves differently every day and some things can only be understood over a passage of time.
