Customer Reviews

Laws of Gravity [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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".

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.

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.

Strong performances from Peter Greene and Adam Trese highlight this low budget crime-drama which was obviously influenced by Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets". It's a good rental, but I suggest that you see "Mean Streets" first.

I was interested in this low-budget 1992 film because it starred Edie Falco of "The Sopranos" before she got famous, and because the setting was an Italian American neighborhood in Brooklyn. The characters are all "wanna be" gangsters who think they are tough guys. There are two couples in the story and Edie Falco is a hard-working young married woman who argues a lot with her husband even though you can tell that the two of them are in love. They are friends with another couple who fight and break up all the time. The boyfriend is physically abusive and and Edie Falco does a lot of consoling her friend. All of them hang out in bars and the men are involved in petty crime, including a lot of shoplifting. Into this mix comes another friend who is on parole from jail. He is definitely a bad guy and is trying to sell guns, much to Edie Falco's displeasure. Everyone talks and argues all the time. It was a bunch of losers living on the edge and playing with fire. Naturally, one of them gets shot.

I know this wasn't a great film. In fact it probably wouldn't even get on the playing field for any kind of award. But it moved fast, the characters were interesting and quirky, and I really got into the grittiness of it all. I liked their youth and vim and vinegar even though it was obvious that they were all losers. And, unlike "The Sopranos", nobody ever makes any real money and they are always poor.

Frankly, I loved this film and give it a high rating. I found it interesting and very very real even though I know it is not for everyone.

it's not trying to be some epic Scrocese film. it's a story about a couple of mooks who just screw up and lie and shine it when you call them on it, and their slow spiral down. you're a fly on the wall, right up close.
the handheld camera work is pretty amazing, really tight closeups on the characters, with a rhythm that just grips you and yanks you around, so much so that, when i first saw it in the theaters, when the scene finally broke you could hear the whole theater exhale. why is this not on DVD please?

I purchased this film in the early 1990s on vhs and was astonished how good it was. Peter Greene, late of playing "Zed" in "Pulp Fiction" plays the best friend of character actor Adam Trese (a familiar face on the original "Law and Order")who is heading for trouble by carrying a concealed gun in a "weapons free" mob-run area of Brooklyn, New York.

The film follows their quick descent as they compound their troubles with horrendous decisions and fatal consequences.

The film is also the source of the phrase "mucka ferguson", itself a euphemism for a certain swear-word combo, popularised by the eponymous band that adopted it for their own.

It has taken a VERY long time to see this on dvd when other garbage films have seen release on dvd for a decade. Though very pricey at over $20.00, if it gets below $15.00 a must purchase for fans of early 1990s dramatic realism.

I ran across this movie many years ago at Blockbuster and never let go.. doh. This film is just raw and captivating (am I repeating myself?). It captures the gritty essence of street life and draws the viewer right into the middle of all the action as if just tagging along. There's no big plots or mind bending conspiracies... just a raw documentary like glimpse in the lives of some young adults in Brooklyn. I can't remember the last movie that drew me in like that EVER. Too bad this one didn't get released on DVD. One of the BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME, just my take.

I read the reviews for this movie and really wanted to see it. Peter Greene is what caught my attention because he is a great actor just never made it as big as he should of. Well after I watched this movie I was extremely dissappointed. It didnt seem like the same movie everyone was reviewing PLUS! everything on the pictures on the front and back of the box IS NOT IN THE MOVIE! The picture of Johnny on the back holding the gun, yeah that never happends, nor is Peter Greenes character the way he is on the cover. I dont understand why they would put all that on the box and not have any of it in the movie.

WTF i would have given this movie 5 stars if they'd actually finished it.