A boy and his thumb, the sadness at hand

New section in the video store (or on Netflix): Indie Teen Fable. That's where Donnie Darko belongs, certainly, and Napoleon Dynamite, and when Thumbsucker comes out on DVD, it'll fit right in.

But don't wait until then to see this quiet, quirky gem.

Based on the novel by Walter Kirn and adapted by music video director Mike Mills (his feature debut), Thumbsucker is the tale of a 17-year-old high schooler, Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci), who still nurses his digit - and who wanders through his days in a daze, kind of sad, kind of distant, not right with the world.

His parents - a stern dad (Vincent D'Onofrio), a caring but clueless mom (Tilda Swinton) - don't know how to deal with him. And anyway, they've got their own issues.

Justin, with a faraway look in his eye (in just one eye - the other's hidden behind hanks of hair), gets most of his counsel from his orthodontist. As Dr. Perry Lyman, Keanu Reeves keeps an old copy of Be Here Now in his waiting room and a stockpile of New Age aphorisms in his head. He tells Justin that it's time to "confront the underlying issues" behind his thumbsucking, that traditional orthodontics isn't going to work. There's something about Reeves in a medico coat, handling doctor's (or dentist's) implements and delivering diagnoses, that's at once absurdly funny and comforting, too. Nancy Meyers put a stethoscope around his neck in Something's Gotta Give, and Diane Keaton fell for Reeves, presto.

The other authority figure in Justin's life is Mr. Geary, the school debate coach, a small role made large thanks to the deadpan goofiness of Vince Vaughn. Geary's the kind of teacher who talks to his students as if he's one of them. He's not.

In fact, none of the characters in Thumbsucker, including Rebecca (Kelli Garner), Justin's serene, sexy friend and lust object, are what they seem, or who they think they are. Justin's insecurities are there for all to see - he's popping it in his mouth - but the whole town is populated by flawed, fearful people who assume roles (teacher, parent, professional) to avoid facing their real selves.

In the course of his senior year, Justin experiments with marijuana and booze and gets put on Ritalin - school officials believe he has attention deficit disorder. His transformation is dramatic, and suddenly Justin's the star of the debate team, offering piercingly articulate arguments, buzzing from the high of his verbal victories.

But when a teammate quips that Ritalin is "just three molecules different than cocaine," Justin's well of self-doubt opens anew. Maybe that buzz is just chemically induced, after all.

Director Mills gives Thumbsucker a flat, muted tone. He isn't trying for the surreal trippiness of Donnie Darko, or the flat-out loopy nerdfest that is Napoleon Dynamite. Pucci is wonderful in the central role - you can feel his soul ache - and Swinton brings a plain, sweet longing to her part as a mother and wife who turns to soap operas (and one soap star, played by Benjamin Bratt) as her means of escape.

The admissions office at a particular New York university won't be complaining about the movie's tacked-on coda, a veritable free ad for the school. But that one false note aside, Thumbsucker is terrific.

Contact movie critic Steven Rea

at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.

Thumbsucker

*** 1/2 (out of four stars)

Produced by Anthony Bregman and Bob Stephenson, written and directed by Mike Mills, from the novel by Walter Kirn, photography by Joaquin Baca-Asay, music by Tim DeLaughter, Elliott Smith and the Polyphonic Spree, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Running time: 1 hour, 36 mins.

Justin Cobb. . . Lou Pucci

Audrey Cobb. . . Tilda Swinton

Mike Cobb. . . Vincent D'Onofrio

Rebecca. . . Kelli Garner

Perry Lyman. . . Keanu Reeves

Parent's guide: R (sex, drugs, profanity, adult themes)

Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse and Ritz Sixteen/NJ