http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473488/
Based on the memoirs of Dito Mondiel and directed by himself, this is a powerful tale of redemption. Set in the mid 1980s, the film explores the lives of various inner city youths in Astoria, NY.
Robert Downey Jr plays the adult Dito who writes a book about his childhood but cannot still seem to forgive his father. He decides to go back home when his father is seriously ill and reminisces about his troubled youth. The film then cuts to 1985 when he and his friends smoked lots of weed, got into fist fights and tried to find love that was elusive.
The film employs the use of a shaky cam which brings in a grittiness to the proceedings and the cast shine in this marvellous ensemble piece. Channing Tatum as Antonio is perhaps the best as a confident and troubled young man addicted to chaos.
I love coming of age stories and this one is a brilliant film that explores troubled youth, the people we are indebted to and why one may have to go back to the past to move forward. 7.5/10
(Picture sourced from Wikipedia)
Boy, u do love coming of age, homecoming movies, don’t you? I watched this movie a couple of days back… and while I agree that it’s raw and honest and the characters shine, still it really didn’t impress me much. I guess that’s because there was too much honesty in this movie. It was so real and gritty. Boy, it didn’t feel like a movie at all… rather a documentary… a biopic kinda (of course it is!). Though it’s a good movie, I don’t think I’d recommend this to others. This movie doesn’t deserve to be belittled by others (who might feel the same way I do – and I’ve a feeling there’d be many).