Straight Out of Brooklyn

This film boasts credible performances by the cast, including some powerful moments. The pacing is uneven at times, almost, but not convincingly, giving it a cinema verite feel. The makeup for the battered wife is obvious to distraction. It is certainly worth viewing, but one has to do so without comparing it to something a large studio would distribute. I would love to see what Matty Rich might produce with a larger budget.

This film has many flaws, but many strengths as well. Many luminaries in the film industry have openly criticized this film. I feel much of this is unjustified, because a lot was done on a miniscule budget here. There is also a great performance in George T. Odom's portrayal of the fed up father who has been beaten down by racism. Anyone who has grown up in a low income household can relate to that situation. The ending is sad and real. Also especially noteworthy is Harold Wheeler's excellent and despondent musical score.

Being from NY originally, one often drives by the Red Hook section, this film doesn't skim the surface, everyone should see it.

While it was a low budget film, the acting is first-rate. George Odom is the father, I also thought the mother was realistically portrayed by Ann D. Sanders... as a woman who simply has no options, and is worried about her son and daughter. When she tries to get help from the employment agency, we see the hypocrisy of the counselor, telling her to get help, when she clearly has no intention of offering help.

Larry Gilliard Jr. is excellent as Dennis (he also had a recent role in "The Machinist", with Christian Bale, where he was quite good). This movie is worth seeing because you feel for the characters, it is not just gratuitous violence, and deals with the mindset of the characters.

Hopefully, Matty Rich will make more movies of this genre. Highly recommended.

I have seen at least 450 films from the "Urban" genre, and I have to say I am always perplexed by this film. If you are someone who is fussy about the aesthetics and the technical aspects of a film, you do not want to see this film. However, if you are looking for a film with strong performances by black actors, or a film with a look at life in the projects, this is the film for you. I think sometimes when we talk about project life we imagine a certain picture or image. This film deals a lot more with the mindsets of people in the projects. The most powerful performance is by George T. Odom, whose monologues and multi-personalities combine for a great example of a struggling black man. Larry Gillard Jr. is also in this film(the man who played D'Angelo Barksdale in HBO's The Wire) and he delivers a relatively impressive performance as a ordinary kid in the projects. Overall this is an impressive film with no budget. The one thing you need to be warned about is at times it is so low budget it will sometimes look as it was scenes from staged plays. I also wish the supporting cast was made up of better actors. I like this film, enough that i look at scenes from it once and a while when I myself am studying character archetypes.

Straight Out of Brookyln is a film similar to Boyz N The Hood, excpet it's set in New York. The film about three friends is very moving and deep and it's shame it didn't get a wider release. Matty Rich proved his talent with this film as a director, it's a shame that he didn't have the success he deserves.