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Director: Alan Jacobs

Starring: Jessica Romero, Danny Glover, Kate Del Castillo, Emily Rios

I rolled into TO for the last weekend of the 2009 TIFF (Toronto Int’l Film Festival) and went on a whirlwind movie spree, seeing nine movies in two days. Some, like My Son, My Son What Ye Done, were god awful, pretentious art-house junk and others, like Jennifer’s Body, were pretty good, but head and shoulders above the other eight was Down For life. This gritty inner city drama, which is apparently a true story inspired by a New Times article, crackles with realism and the performers don’t seem to be acting at all, but simply living. The action scenes are jarring and seem a lot closer to Youtube than Hollywood, thanks to the skilled direction of little-known director, Alan Jacobs.

Jessica Romero, was cast right off the streets of East Central to play the lead role of Rascal, the streetwise leader of a small women’s wing of a Latino gang. The whole story takes place in a single chaotic day in her violence-filled life. Conflict both inside and outside the gang as well as in the home, on top of a looming deadline for entry to a summer writing program that might be an escape hatch to a better life. The crisp story moves along quickly and eventually takes us a scene so sudden and shocking that viewers seemed to jump back in their seats as one.

Down For Life is a current and raw film made in the vein of such inner city classics as Boyz n The Hood. It is an independent film and may be hard to find, but as the best film of 2009, thus far, it is well worth the effort.

Writer/Director: Sean Ellis

Starring: Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Shaun Evans, Michelle Ryan, Stuart Goodwin, Michael Dixon

What if you Had the ablility stop any moment in time and be able to really see the world for what it is. It’s beauty, it’s chaos. British Writer/Director Sean Ellis explores that exact idea in this indy work and unlike the Adam Sandler effort “Click” that had a somewhat similar premise, Cashback is original, funny and entertaining.

Ben Willis is an aspiring artist with no other real marketable trade. After a ugly break up with his girlfriend Suzy, he developes a nasty bout of insomnia. Having a hardtime filling the extra 8 hours a day he decides to start working at a 24 hour grocery store as a stock boy to pass the time. During his tenure of trading time for money, he meets a motley crew of characters that all have their own unique and often very humourous way of passing the time and boredom at work. It is here that he also realizes his undiscovere skill of being able to “freeze time” at any second and explore the world in that exact moment. It allows him to appreciate the true beauty of all things and all people in any frozen moment. The beauty he realizes most often is his co-worker and suspended animation muse Sharon. Ben developes the true depth of his talent for drawing in these captured moments.

Cashback is a refreshing story with a truely unique look at love and beauty. It is filled with clever dialogue and interesting characters and a clear message that the world is filled with beauty at all times, most of us just don’t take the time to see it. As with many good English indy films,the characters are interesting and fun to watch interact. Because of the backdrop of the late night supermarket and the eclectic cast of characters and the introspective lead character, this movie plays like a cross between Career Opportunities, Snatch and Garden State. If you liked any combination of those three you are sure to enjoy this one. If you have not seen those…..it looks like a four movie weekend for you!

Director: Talia Lugacy

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Chad Faust, Marcus Patrick,

Rosario Dawson starred and Produced this raw, graphic picture that was written and directed by Talia Lugacy (apparently Dawson and Lugacy either grew up on the same street or Dawson owes Lugacy a favor because everything with Lugacy’s name on it stars Rosario Dawson). I have never met Talia, and probably never will, but from watching this, her first full length feature, I can only look her the same way I look at Stephen King. They both either have a very vivid, but warped imagination, or that have lived a VERY troubled life.

The always impressive, and equally beautiful, Rosaria Dawson stars as Maya, an intelligent but socially reserved college student struggling through a break up that she feels she should be over by now, as well as the other stresses of college life. These stresses include balancing school and social activity, as well as making ends meet and finding someone else to feel good about. At a party, where she is obviously trying not to be picked up, she meets Jared (played convincingly by Chad Faust) who initially comes off as a typical meathead football player, who has a few rehearsed lines, but is without an original thought in his head. After some effort on his part, Maya (contrary to her desires to stay uninvolved) is charmed by Jared’s apparent hidden depth. After a very short time, however, ( their first date actually) Jared shows his true colors and takes from Maya what does not belong to him and what she did not offer, at the same time degrading her with racist and misogynistic verbal attacks. This traumatic event seems to have no effect on Jared, who goes about his life unphased. Maya, however, spirals into a pit of alcoholism and promiscuity where she meets a DJ named Adrian, who’s attitude toward life forever changes her perspective and helps her to hatch a plan of revenge and retribution.

Although the performances in this film are moving, and believable, the story is a little over done and there are some scenes that are so graphic, you will have to turn away. You will be impressed by the overall effect of this movie but I can’t help think that Talia Lugacy could go from a good writer/director to a great one if she did not tell such an angry story and didn’t feel such a need to shock her viewer. This movie plays like a cross between the Accused and The Brave One (yes, I know they are both Jodie Foster movies) If you like dramas about the human response to trauma, this one may be for you, but be forewarned, it is not for the faint of heart.