Photo By Steve Ramos

With three films under his belt, including his most recent, Undertow, directo David Gordon Green has become the boy hero of American film.

The boy hero of American film has shaggy, shoulder-length hair, curious eyes and a soft chin that looks as if it's never touched a razor. The same description applies to the teenage protagonist in the boy hero's recent film, Undertow. The hero is David Gordon Green, the 29-year-old filmmaker who first wowed critics in 2000 with his debut film George Washington, about an African-American teenager growing up in rural North Carolina.

Green's onscreen adventurer in Undertow is Chris (Jaime Bell), a young rebel with greasy hair and a smudged face who lives in an isolated farmhouse with his father, cash-strapped farmer and taxidermist John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) and his younger brother, Tim (Devon Alan). Chris' life turns tense after his uncle Deel (Josh Lucas) comes to visit. Deel is after money hidden in the house, and a jolt of unexpected violence sends the two boys running for their lives.

It's not fair to call Green a boy, although his casual clothes and infectious enthusiasm emphasize his youthful appearance and outsider status. After all, only an outsider, someone who chooses to make his home in New Orleans over New York or Los Angeles, could make a film like Undertow.

Every bit as interesting as Green's acclaimed debut film, Undertow is pure Southern comfort, '70s B movie, not very different from the Burt Reynolds movies Green grew up watching. Popcorn action sequences, violent outbursts and tense confrontations bring a campy layer of fluff to Undertow. Green laughs as he talks about his core inspirations for the film, all '70s drive-in classics: Walking Tall, Billy Jack and Burt Reynolds' Gator.

"I grew up watching The Dukes of Hazzard, and I wanted the film to have the feel of a Dukes of Hazzard episode," Green says, sitting alone in a large hotel conference room the day after Undertow premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. "I made this film for two crowds. I made it for my dad's friends who love Burt Reynolds movies, and I made it for me, back when I was 14. Basically, I wanted to make a film that's part Deliverance and part The Goonies."

What Green points out and what he achingly makes clear is that Undertow is not a parody or camp comedy inspired by Southern pulp. Green loves the Burt Reynolds movies he grew up watching, and he wants Undertow to honor the drive-in genre.

On one level, as an homage to Burt Reynolds, Undertow is worlds apart from his previous two films. Yet, before the film's finale, his die-hard fans breathe a sigh of relief after discovering that Undertow is also another one of his trademark introspective, art house dramas, similar to George Washington and his sophomore film, the teen love story All The Real Girls.

Undertow is heartfelt and sincere, filled with emotional honesty and truthful teen characters. Green's artful style -- extended scenes of silence and long takes of the rural landscape courtesy of his regular cinematographer Tim Orr -- is evident in the film's second half. Undertow is about youthful idealism, which connects the film with All The Real Girls and George Washington, and most importantly, with Green's own personality.

Green laughs at the idea of art house audiences being turned off by the film's drive-in spirit and fans of Burt Reynolds movies never checking out the movie. Perhaps he's made a film for no one except himself. If so, he's pleased with what he's made.

"When I think of Undertow I think of Huckleberry Finn," he says excitedly. "I think of the type of stories you tell to each other on front porches. It's a story I am familiar with and a type of story that I think is missing from the movies."

Our interview is relaxed and conversational, as laid-back as Green himself. He laughs loudly while talking about his meetings in Los Angeles pitching studios on the idea for Undertow.

"I ate a papaya before I had these meetings, and I got some kind of allergic reaction," Green says. "My face turned beet red, and there was nothing I could do."

Red face and all, Green still received the funding from United Artists, a welcome accomplishment after his plans to direct an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces fell apart.

Undertow is far from a perfect film, but it is the work of a talented artist, someone attempting to try something different. Two films after George Washington, Green continues to stretch storytelling boundaries.

It's reassuring when one of America's important film artists has the type of boyish face incapable of growing a beard. This means he is still early in his career, and many amazing films lie ahead. ©