SLIFF 2014 Review- FIVE STAR

FIVE STAR screens on November 15 at the Tivoli Theatre at 7 PM as part of the 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival. Get ticket information here

Once again film makers return to the mean streets of NYC for another look at gang culture. This is not another historical epic like GANGS OF NEW YORK, nor do the young toughs suddenly break into dance moves as in WEST SIDE STORY. Writer/director Keith Miller’s FIVE STAR is set squarely in today’s Manhattan where danger lurks on every corner and crime destroys families. As the film opens, the camera rests on the weary face of ‘Primo’ (played by real life Bloods gang member James Grant) as he tearfully recalls not being there for the birth of his youngest son due to his latest incarceration (the title’s five stars refers to his tattoo which indicates a gang member’s highest rank). We then meet the other main character, teenage John (John Diaz) a young man adrift after the violent death of his father. Primo was the late man’s best friend and so he takes John under his wing, prepping him to be another drug delivery messenger. But the fatherly Primo is capable of violence as we see him smack down a dealer late with a payment. Later he tenderly cares for his three small children and his wife as she informs him of another on the way. Then Primo is off to his ‘legal’ gig as the bouncer at a local bar, eager for more hours and take-home pay, perhaps to finally escape “the life”. John’s mother struggles to keep a good home for her boy, but fears he will follow in his father’s footsteps. As John becomes more confident he begins a sweet romance with a girl from the block. But one day, he makes an investment that could shatter his dreams in a burst of tragic retribution.

Miller gives the film a documentary-like feel as the camera glides down the apartment hallways and drifts alongside sidewalks to capture angry confrontations. The dialogue has a natural sound as the screen newcomers give compelling performances. But the tension is always there, simmering under the surface of every scene. The music score has a subtle, quiet power while the cinematographers make excellent use of real locations particularly the  scary pitch-black oceanfront. FIVE STARS is an engaging, nail-biter of a drama that places you right in the middle of this dangerous, very-real world of life and sudden death.