A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Monday, 05 Mar 2007 17:01
Robert Downey Jr gives a mature and reflective performance as the older Dito
Directed by Dito Montiel, out March 2nd in cinemas, starring Robert Downey Jr, Shia LaBeouf and Chazz Palminteri, running time 98 minutes.
In a nutshell…
Hard-hitting, moving, coming-of-age drama.
What's it all about?
Writer and director Dito Montiel presents a partly-fictionalised account of his early life in 1980s Astoria, Queens, where his friends descend into gang-related violence and hatred. Although attempting to live an honest life with a part-time job, loving parents and a girlfriend, Dito makes plans to leave the city when poor education, death, prison and unemployment begin to surround him.
The film intertwines the story of the young Dito and his older self returning to the neighbourhood after his father falls ill, but the visit is not welcomed by many who feel that he abandoned his family for a better life.
However, Dito realises he has been saved from his friends' fate and tries to make amends with his loved ones in a tough but often funny film focusing on the difficult transition between the past and the present.
Who's in it?
Shia LaBeouf plays the young Dito, effortlessly portraying a confused and honest boy who is torn between loyalty to his closest friends and making a better life for himself.
As the older Dito, Robert Downey Jr gives a mature and reflective performance, especially when he reunites with ex-girlfriend Laurie (Rosario Dawson).
Other notable stars include The Usual Suspects' Chazz Palminteri as Dito's controlling but loving father and Anthony DeSando as a dog-walking heroin addict, Frank.
As an example…
Monty (Dito's father): "You're not going anywhere, Dito."
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Possibly too understated to be an Oscar winner, the film has already garnered praise in the form of the Director's Award and the Special Jury Award for best ensemble cast at 2006's Sundance Film Festival. It may pass through cinemas without storming the box office but will no doubt be enjoyed by those who do make the trip to see it.
What the others say
"Ambitious … this may hit a false note here or there but the performances are magnetic." - Damon Wise, Empire
"It's a bit too artful and self-conscious at times … but there are some jagged and heartfelt moments that linger in the memory." - Phillippa Hawker, The Age
So is it any good?
A simple plot and the dual-story structure of Dito's life and return to New York combine to make A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints a gripping and somewhat moving story. The acting is superb, particularly from Downey Jr and LaBeouf who portray the older and younger Dito effectively.
With touching and funny moments, the film's setting in the sweaty heat of a run-down neighbourhood raises the tension and inescapability of Dito's situation as he watches his friends disappear one by one.
His avoidance of the same fate seems to be by chance - or saints protecting him - and his rejection of his father's misplaced love makes for a tragic story of loss and missed chances.
Based on Montiel's book of the same name, the movie also has an excellent soundtrack and stellar supporting performances by a cast who may be partly unknown but convey truth and innocence effortlessly.
8/10
Isabel Plumbly
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