A brutally accurate return to Queens circa 1986, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is poet/musician Dito Montiel’s film adaptation of his own memoirs, and a startling debut for this tourist filmmaker.
Saints is a half-fictional account of Montiel’s escape from NYC’s bleak and turbulent Astoria projects. A teenage Dito (played by Shia LaBeouf) is tempted to head to California to follow his artistic ambitions, against the wishes of his doting father (Chazz Paliminteri) and volatile but loyal best friend Antonio (Channing Tatum). When a violent rivalry builds between a graffiti crew called the Reapers and Dito’s own inner circle, the aspiring artist has even more reason to leave his friends and family behind.
Down with the rough-and-tumble pastures of urban living, Saints is raw and teeming with a hard-knuckled, bloodied-nose and stitched-eyebrow veracity. While Montiel proves to be no day-tripper when capturing the “New Yaawk” essence and street corner mentality, he is betrayed by his inexperience in film.
The screen adaptation is gimmicky, revealing strained efforts by a virgin director trying to find his own voice and set his work apart from past inner-city rumbles such as Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Larry Clark’s Kids, two obvious influences.
Framed by Dito’s departure and his return to his home fifteen years later, with Robert Downey Jr. taking on the role of the mature Dito, the modern-day passages don’t quite gel with the urban energy of the earlier plotline. Montiel also uses a voiceover that repeats dialogue to show how gentle and affectionate some words can be, when they are not shouted in rage. The result is definitely hit-and-miss.
The film is indebted to its eclectic cast, who made off with an ensemble-acting award at the Sundance Film Festival. Highlights include a tenderly macho performance from the too-often neglected Chazz Paliminteri (The Usual Suspects) and a ferocious effort from Channing Tatum (Step Up), who delivers a breakthrough performance that should finalize his exit from brainless teen chick-flicks.
Montiel’s debut, while divulging the director’s na’veté, nevertheless demonstrates intimate familiarity with the world in which it is set. Meanwhile, the stellar cast should be recognized as Montiel’s real saints, as they provide the rookie director with all the experience necessary to succeed in the filmmaking process.
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Directed by Ditto Montiel
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Robert Downey Jr.,
Channing Tatum
Rating: VVV
