Blackbird

Teenager Sean Randall has just moved from the urban home of his remarried mother and her new family to the rural Nova Scotia home of his father, hunting enthusiast Ricky Randall. Sensitive Sean feels completely alienated in his life, that feeling which he manifests through his goth lifestyle. He is encouraged by his counselor to write down his innermost feelings as a coping mechanism. Popular student Deanna Roy also feels alienated, but she manifests her feelings by doing whatever it takes to be liked by everyone. As such, she is dating the hockey team captain, Cory, despite not particularly liking him. Sean and Deanna, who know each other from riding the bus to/from school, begin a friendship. Despite the obstacles including from her conservative parents who she also does not particularly like, that friendship blossoms into a secret romance. Their friendship also does not sit well with Cory and his hockey team buddies, who end up bullying Sean. As a result, Sean writes down his fantasies of revenge, which he has no intention of carrying out. However, those written fantasies, in combination with Ricky's arsenal of unregistered hunting firearms, lead to Sean being arrested for planning to carry out a Columbine-like massacre. Denied bail and sent to Waterville, a tough youth detention center, Sean, who feels wronged by the system, has to decide whether to follow the advice of his high powered lawyer and lie to get himself out of juvenile detention, or stay to the truth despite he possibly losing and having to endure the hell of Waterville, which includes further threats by his fellow detainees, led by Trevor whose sadistic exterior is its own mask to hide his underlying hurt. Through it all, Deanna also has to decide if she is willing to give up all that she's worked for in being one of the popular kids to help Sean.