Themes: Crime Gone Awry, Families in Crisis, Street Gangs
Main Cast: Lawrence Gilliard, Jr., George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Barbara Sanon, Reana E. Drummond
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Matty Rich's Straight out of Brooklyn is an unflinching portrait of an African-American family struggling to survive in a Brooklyn housing project. The family's oldest son (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) decides that the easiest way to get his family out of the projects is by robbing a local drug dealer, but that plan turns disastrous when the pusher and his gang track the boy and his family down. Rich was only 19 years old at the time he wrote and directed Straight out of Brooklyn (he also appears as Larry in the film). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Review
As powerful as contemporary inner-city films such as Do the Right Thing and Boyz N the Hood were, the tale of hopelessness in the projects feels even more achingly real on a lower budget. Such is Straight Out of Brooklyn, the remarkable debut from teenage writer/director Matty Rich, so gritty that it looks like a documentary. Shot on a shoestring with a cast of all first-time actors, including the director in a supporting role, the film gets right inside the moments of crisis in a poor African-American family. George T. Odom is menacing as the drunken father, a ranting lout who frequently leaves the family's kitchenware in a pile of rubble when he gets liquored up. His painful ravings are scary, but the real hurt exists within the pregnant silences, as his family waits out the storm, too obedient to do anything but cower. Although the sense of futility dominates, Odom's infrequent happier moments with his teenage son (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) hint at the functional bonds that could exist between them all if they could indeed get "straight out of Brooklyn." The actors all give naturalistic performances, and the young actors in particular (Gilliard, Rich, and Mark Malone) effectively translate their own experiences to generate a sense of youthful bravado and enthusiasm. Rich's point is well made: there's just so little for the characters to be enthusiastic about. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Cast
Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. - Dennis Brown
George T. Odom - Ray Brown
Ann D. Sanders - Frankie Brown
Barbara Sanon - Carolyn Brown
Reana E. Drummond - Shirley
Matty Rich - Larry; Mark Malone - Kevin; David Belgrave - Grocery Clerk; Dorise Black - Ms. Walker; Lawrence Clifford, Jr.; Krystal Davis - Luther's Girlfriend; William Erskine - Man in Bar; J.R. Hill - Bartender; Soraya Hyppolite - Woman in Grocery Store; Booker T. Matthews - Uncle Scotty; James Arnold Mayes - Man in Bar; James McFadden - James; Albertha Moody - Secretary in Employment Office; Robert N. Nash - Skeet; Joseph Pillonia - Gas Station Manager; Billy R. - Gas Station Customer; Ulysses Rivers - Voiceover; Fran Sperling - Sarah; Joseph A. Thomas - Saledene; Ali Shahid Abdul Wahha - Luther; Walter Meade - Man in Grocery Store
Credit
Allen Black - Associate Producer, Matty Rich - Director, Jack Haigis - Editor, Harold Wheeler - Composer (Music Score), John Rosnell - Cinematographer, Ira Deutchman - Producer, Lidsay Law - Producer, Matty Rich - Producer, Matty Rich - Screenwriter
