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Gritty. Dramatic. And,
as usual, somebody has to end up dead. Isn't this basically the plot
and outcome of every indie movie ever made? Did I mention mushmouthed
kids that haven't showered in weeks, don't seem to have parents and
seem to have very little regard for life in general? Such is the bleak
setting of Hurricane Streets, a movie about a group of kids
who love to skip school, shoplift and hang out in some sort of bomb
shelter down by the Hudson River. Basically, the kids aren't too bright,
are undermotivated and lack any kind of drive other than stealing
stuff for no apparent reason except to buy weed. Despite all this,
Brendan Sexton gives a good performance as the ringleader of the gang
of screw-ups. He plays it very low-key, as his character comes to
many realizations throughout the film, including the fact that his
mother (Edie Falco from The Sopranos), who he thinks is getting
out of jail soon to come take care of him, is, in fact, in jail for
life after killing his father after he beat her. Depressing enough
for you? Basically, the kids in his crew spend the entire movie trying
to convince Sexton's character (Marcus) that they should move up from
petty crime and start with the big stuff like GTA and armed burglary.
Meanwhile, Marcus is busy dreaming of a life away from the city in
New Mexico (where everything, of course, will be perfect) with his
girlfriend (who, of course, is beaten by her violent father). If this
plot sounds familiar, it should. Anybody remember Carlito's Way?
Carlito (Al Pacino) just dreams of a life in the tropics with his
girlfriend after getting out of jail, while his buddies try and convince
him to get involved on a big score. So, against his better judgement,
he goes along with it, risking the dream and proving that nobody really
changes. Like Carlito, Marcus is pinched after the cops catch him
selling sneakers to grade schoolers, and is warned to go straight
or face incarceration. He does go straight until his friends finally
convince him to go along with a stupid idea to rob some guy's apartment
who they know stashes a bunch of cash in his drawer. Then things go
bad. Surprise! Anyway, Carlito's Way was one of the worst
films of the 90's, so this doesn't say much for this film. It's not
the first time this plot has reared its ugly head, and certainly not
the last, but I just don't understand how filmmakers can rehash the
same crap over and over again. Speaking of writing, the dialogue in
this movie is so understated and droll (so as to not make the film
seem showy) it defeats the purpose and passion of the characters.
Also, I just find it to be an incredible weakness in indie films these
days (and some Hollywood films as well) that the conflict in the film
always needs to end in gunplay. It's like the writers aren't smart
enough to come up with something more ingenious, so they introduce
guns, someone integral to the character conflict gets killed and,
poof!, no more conflict -- end of story. [Sundance Channel]
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