Break Out

This overlooked film about teens surviving on the streets of Los Angeles came and went pretty quickly when initially released. Pity, because it's a film that deserves a wider audience. Within the device of a journalist doing interviews as research for an article on runaways, we're introduced to a band of teens who have formed a defacto family and the various situations they encounter on the street. King(Durmont Mulroney)is the leader and protector of an assortment of kids that include druggie Greg(Sean Astin), Little J(Balthasar Getty), smart-mouthed Brenda(Ricki Lake), and newcomer Heather(Lara Flynn Boyle), whom King takes a shine to. The film follows then through their days of riding boxcars, sleeping under overpasses, and hanging out in public places while avoiding cops, drug dealers, and pimps. While the film downplays some aspects of the streets( the violence and emotional devastation of child prostitution is acknowledged but not conveyed directly), others are show with uncomfortable intensity. For some of these kids, it's a one-way trip down. Sean Austin's fate as the speed-freak Greg is disturbing; the final shot of his character in the film haunted me for days.