Dir.
Dito Montiel, 2006, US, 98 mins
Cast: Shia La Beouf, Channing Tatum, Chazz Palminteri, Robert
Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson
Review by Richard Badley
Though painful and heartbreaking first-time
writer/director Dito Montiel explores his upbringing on the
mean streets of Queens, New York during the long, hot summer
of '86 in this gritty autobiography told from two different
ages in his life. Mixing visceral performances from the next
acting generation to relive Montiel's hopeless existence
while heavyweight stars break-up the action to view it in
retrospective, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is bold
yet indulgent filmmaking that demands attention. The young
cast surprise while their elders sometimes strain but Palminteri's
powerhouse performance ensures that the emotional and gripping
father-son disintegration takes centre-stage.
Starting with co-producer Downey Jr.
as an older Montiel the film lays out the tragedy that
is about to unfold and that, despite his eventual 'escape'
from the violent neighborhood, it came at a hefty price.
As Montiel heads back home to face his past and ailing
father, Monty (Palminteri), so also begins the story in
flashback of a teenage Montiel (La Beouf) getting into
scrapes with his unpredictable and scarred friend Antonio
(Tatum). With little aim in life their days are dedicated
to getting high, into trouble and into run-ins with petty
vandal the Reaper while their focal point remains around
Monty whose narrow views on the world rob them of any future; “You
want China, go to Chinatown. You want Italy, go to Little
Italy.” When an outsider, new kid on the block Mike
(Sweet Sixteen's Martin Compston), opens Montiel's mind to
the possibilities that are beyond the tenements then Dito
must break free of suffocating patriarchy before he winds
up in the gutter over some meaningless argument.
The largely improvised scenes that make up Montiel's everyday
life are incredibly naturalistic and with all the characters
yacking over each other struggling to be heard it's reminiscent
of a Scorsese get together. Here the family ties also remain
strong and the threat of violence or revenge is ever present
courtesy of Tatum's clenched-fist of a performance that freewheels
into consequences he will never escape. Similarly La Beouf
carries the same uncertainty but with a wide-eyed fragility
that makes him always weaker when facing up to Palminteri
and their scenes make essential viewing. Downey Jr. and Dawson
never have the same impact and their segments only highlight
Montiel's awkward portrayal of himself as the suffering artist
rather than adding to the drama, serving instead to add big
names to the credits instead of letting LeBeouf and Tatum
make their own which they are well on their way to doing.
Montiel creates a vibrant and fierce
vision of teen life in an expertly realized slice of inner-city
malaise that gets to the heart of its denizens rather than
glamorizing the violence and drugs lifestyle. The 'guide'
portion of the story is redundant when the coming-of-age
drama is so strong but ringing throughout is the tragic
line “I
left everybody but no-one left me” ensuring that this
true story is always very personal. Now that Montiel has
exorcised these particular demons it will be interesting
to see where he can go to make his follow-up as equally compelling.
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