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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little known Screen Gem!, January 23, 2003
This review is from: Laws of Gravity [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is a very realistic film about life in the city. It deals with characters whose way of life has been and continues to be, about crime. Peter Greene plays the lead and as always gives a superb performance.(He has also been in The Usual Suspects, The Mask, and Clean Shaven) It's very surprising this didn't launch Director Nick Gomez's career into the fast lane. The perspective of each individual character is so raw and believable, that it feels like you could have known these characters in your own life. It is easy to empathize with the characters and get wrapped up in the film due to the ingenious/realistic dialogue. Kudos! to all the actors in the film and the Director. This is a real work of art, seeing as how "art imitates life".
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As realistic as "Kids", but with the humanity of "Suburbia", December 1, 2001
This review is from: Laws of Gravity [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This little known, understated movie is one of the most hauntingly realistic portrayals of the life of crime ever made. The acting is superb. Many people will recognize Edie Falco of recent Sopranos fame, (and you will also see some other faces which have appeared in many HBO features such as Oz) The movie portrays a group of disenfranchised young people existing largely by their wits as subsistance criminals, attempting unsuccesfully to cope with their own shortcomings and with the hostile world around them. Another reviewer compared this to Mean Streets, and it is similar, but not in my opinion derivitive. Like Mean Streets this movie was created by someone who knows the lifestyle because they lived it. Unlike larger budget gangster movies Mean Streets was in fact ahead of it's time for it's unflinching realism and ability to find the drama and pathos in lives of the less spectacular "gangsters" out there. Laws of gravity also does a good job of this, in a more low budget camera style which is somewhat reminiscent of more recent works like the psudo documentary "Kids". But unlike Kids, you will not only recognize these people, you will feel for them, because while being realistic and realistically flawed personalities, they are trying to do what they think is right. This movie meant a lot to me because as a young person growing up in New Orleans, I led a very similar existance. In fact this affected me much as the original "Suburbia" (about the lives of young punk rockers) did. You want to know what the criminal underworld is REALLY like without all the glamour and phony hollywood hype? As someone who has been there, I can tell you, this quiet little movie is spot on.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unheralded but Brilliant Movie about Inner City Life, April 4, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Laws of Gravity [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I first saw this movie 8 years ago on the recommendation of a friend. From the opening scene to the gripping, climactic finale, my adrenaline was pumping. As other reviews have mentioned, the power of this movie comes from its characters. They are raw, emotionally driven individuals who don't filter their language or behaviors by laws or morals...they simply live the only way they know how to live - on a day to day basis just trying to get by....as Frankie says, "No one plans on going to jail. It just sort of happens. I do things and sometimes I get in trouble for it". I"ve always been intrigued by the title of the movie, as I think there could be several interpretations. The most obvious being that the lifestyle these people choose to (or arguably are forced to) live can only bring them in one direction....down. Yet, I found myself not only empathizing with but cheering for each of the characters at various stages of the film. You're just not sure at any point in the movie whether you like a particular character or not....but on some level, you can probably relate to them. I agree with one of the previous reviewers that the only movie I have seen that can even hold a candle to LOG in terms of its raw, realistic portrayal of life on the inner city streets is Kids. Laws of Gravity is an outstanding depiction of inner city life and the mentality of those who have no means of leaving this lifestyle.
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