| Director | Gus Van Sant |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, film based on a novel, independent film, sport film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 85 min |
| Country | France, United States |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $4.5 million |
Alex, a 16-year-old skateboarder, rides a freight train clandestinely with a man named Scratch whom he has just met at the Eastside Skatepark, known as "Paranoid Park". While the train is moving a security guard notices the pair, chases after them, and tries to get them off by hitting Scratch with his flashlight. During the melee, Alex hits him with his skateboard and the guard, losing balance, falls onto another track into the path of an oncoming freight train which cuts him in half. Alex tries to destroy some of the evidence: he throws his skateboard into the Willamette River from the Steel Bridge, and showers and disposes of the clothes he had been wearing.
Alex is later questioned at school by Detective Richard Lu, as are several other students who had been skateboarding on the night in question. It is revealed that the police have recovered Alex's skateboard, though they have not traced it back to him, and have identified DNA evidence which places the skateboard at the scene of the security guard's death.
Throughout the film, Alex keeps the incident to himself, and does not confide in anyone else. After having impassive sex with his girlfriend, Jennifer, he breaks up with her. Another of his friends, Macy, notices that he is worried about something. She advises him to write down whatever is bothering him as a cathartic release if nothing else. He initially rejects the idea, but eventually writes an account, which becomes the basis for the story. After completing the written account, Alex burns it.