HAVOC is about rich suburban teens in Los Angeles who have been so overly exposed by the hip-hop lifestyle that they begin to believe they are “gangsta” themselves. It focuses on Allison Lang (Anne Hathaway), with the help of documentary filmmaker student Eric (Matt O’Leary). Allison, along with her friend Emily (Bijou Phillips), decide to venture into East L.A. to experience the lifestyle firsthand. There they meet Hector (Freddy Rodríguez) and his gang, eventually discovering they are not as street-wise as they had thought. HAVOC is based on on a script written in the early 90’s by fourteen year old Jessica Kaplan. She based the story on her own observations of her wealthy, white classmates in West L.A. Sadly, Kaplan died in a plane crash in 2003, slightly before shooting was to begin. The film is dedicated to her.
Matt plays Eric, one of Allison’s peers who is making a video about her and her friend’s lifestyle. He acts almost like a viewer, giving insight into Allison’s personal life while staying safely behind the lens. That is until Allison’s boyfriend (Mike Vogel) reveals to him a plan to kill Hector. Eric is pretty much the only likable character in the film, with maybe the exception of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Sam who does nothing more but add some humor to the film. Eric provides us with a voice of reason, saying what the viewer is thinking and giving us one of the best quotes in Matt’s films: “You are one of the loneliest people I have ever met.”
Matt Screen Time
Decent amount of sceens, spread throughout the film.
Awards
- Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for DVD Original Programming -- Trip Brock, Kelly Vandever & Shawn Holden
- 2006 Cinema Audio Society, USA
- Winner of Best Actress in a DVD Premiere Movie -- Anne Hathaway
- 2006 DVD Exclusive Awards
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