Movie Summary: [Drama]

    Barret Michaelson is having a bad first day at his new high school--he is badgered, ridiculed and nearly beaten up. He finds an unlikely ally in local loner Ryan Walker, and intelligent but misanthropic youth with a dark family past. A friendship quickly develops, but Barret begins to worry as Ryan's philosophical rantings turn increasingly violent. When Barret does the unthinkable and makes peace with the local teenagers Ryan so despises, Ryan loses all control and attempts to drag Barret down into his world of hatred and destruction--and Barret must find a way to escape. A harrowing depiction of teen violence and rage, "A Better Place" has been a mainstay of the U.S. indie film festival circuit for the past two years, and been called "a bracing, disturbing film with an underlying humanity" (Stephen Gallegher, The Hamptons International Film Festival) and "sharply written, with stellar performances... 'A Better Place' deals frankly with the dark side of the American teenage experience" (Mitch Davis, Fantasia Film Festival).