Themes: Inner City Blues, Fathers and Sons, Mental Illness
Main Cast: Sam Jones III, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Natasha Lyonne, Wesley Snipes
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Zigzag is the directorial debut of screenwriter David S. Goyer (Blade, Blade 2). Based on the well-received debut novel by Landon J. Napoleon, the film tells the story of an autistic teenager, Louis "Zigzag" Fletcher (Sam Jones III). Zigzag is a sensitive and thoughtful boy who retreats into his own mind to escape the harshness of his inner-city life, particularly the abuse of his father (Wesley Snipes). His only friend is Singer (John Leguizamo), his compassionate Big Brother, who gives Louis his nickname, and tells the boy he's imbued with special powers. He's trying to get Zigzag removed from his father's home, and also to teach him to survive. Singer has testicular cancer, and is concerned that he won't always be around when the boy needs him. Zigzag works as a dishwasher in a restaurant owned by the Toad (Oliver Platt), an amusingly caustic Southerner. After Zigzag's father demands 200 dollars for rent, the boy sees Toad opening his office safe, and commits the combination to memory. Later, he takes 9,000 dollars from the safe. When he attempts to give his father the rent, his father takes all the money. When Singer finds out what Zigzag has done, he goes to desperate lengths to get the money back, so he can return it to Toad before Zigzag gets into trouble. As Singer's plan goes awry, this brings the pair into contact with a sleazy loan shark (Luke Goss, who was also in Blade 2) and a kindhearted prostitute (Natasha Lyonne). The film's soundtrack was composed by Grant Lee Phillips. Zigzag was shown at the 2002 SXSW Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
David S. Goyer's directorial debut, Zigzag, is a warm and well-acted, but muddled drama. While the contrivances of the plot may have worked in Landon J. Napoleon's first-person novel, Goyer is unable to capture them as effectively without the main character's distinctive point-of-view narration. The familiar tropes the film runs through (including a robbery, a nasty loan shark, a dying mentor, and a hooker with a heart of gold) need to be relayed completely from the unique perspective of the lead character (as they are in the novel) in order to seem fresh. There are also a few scenes that seem out of place. For example, an incident involving Zigzag (Sam Jones III) and his schoolteacher (Elizabeth Peña, who only appears in this one scene), goes nowhere. But the film has many moments that are touching and funny, particularly in the quieter scenes between Sam Jones III as Zigzag and John Leguizamo as his Big Brother, Singer. Jones does a fine job in a challenging role as an autistic teen who gets into more trouble than he can handle, and Leguizamo is excellent in a very sympathetic turn as his only friend. In contrast to their subtly effective work, Oliver Platt gives an amusingly over-the-top performance as Zigzag's loudmouthed boss. Despite the shortcomings of its plot, Zigzag is worth seeing for its solid performances and engaging characters. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Sherman Augustus - Detective Hawk; Luke Goss - Cadillac Tom; Michael Greyeyes - Dale; Elizabeth Peña - Teacher
Credit
Richard Hicks - Casting, Ronnie Yeskel - Casting, James Holt - Co-producer, Alison Semenza - Co-producer, Susan Bertram - Costume Designer, Richard L. Fox - First Assistant Director, David S. Goyer - Director, Conrad Smart - Editor, Tracee Stanley - Executive Producer, Grant Lee Phillips - Composer (Music Score), Philip Toolin - Production Designer, James L. Carter - Cinematographer, Andrew Stevens - Producer, Elie Samaha - Producer, Felipe Borrero - Sound/Sound Designer, David S. Goyer - Screenwriter
