JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON THE I.R.T.
A film review by Max Hoffmann
Copyright 1993 Max Hoffmann
JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON I.R.T., Not Rated
Color 35mm -- 94 minutes U.S.A
Max Reax = 10 on scale of 0 --- 10
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sux must see
Director: Leslie Harris
Producers: Erwin Wilson and Leslie Harris
Screenwriter: Leslie Harris
Cinematgphr: Richard Connors
Editor: Jack Haigis
Art Direction: Mike Green
Principal Cast: Ariyan Johnson, Kevin Thigpen, Ebony Jerido,
Chequita Jackson, William Badget, Jerard Washington
World Premiere Jan 22 at Sundance Film Festival, UT Q&A with Director/Producers
I don't remember the last time I saw a film so emotionally involving and brilliant that at times it was difficult to hear the soundtrack over the uncontrolled sobbing in the audience! Or the last time I left a theatre with my stomach muscles aching from emotional constrictions. Or the last time I felt "older and wiser" as a result of 94 minutes of light and shadows thrown against a screen.
Director/Writer Leslie Harris breaks rich new ground: a compelling, involving and totally believable portrayal of high school students, from a Black Woman's viewpoint. Ariyan Johnson as the appealing lead, "Chantel" seemingly has it all: looks, brains, popularity, and attitude with a capital "A". Nothing seems to phase her, from snotty yuppy shoppers in the store where she works, to anal retentive high school teachers who are out of touch with the realities of the student body. Chantel feels insulated by her good grades, and gutsy determination to get out of the Brooklyn project housing that trapped her parents.
When the unthinkable comes along to break Chantel's bubble, she desperately clings to denial, and any device imaginable to preserve her familiar world. I'll avoid a spoiler, but be prepared for a gut-wrenching emotionally charged scene, in which you feel almost dragged into her body to experience her pain and isolation with her. It is Directing, Acting and Movie Making at it's Finest!
Chantel's "attitude" is transformed by her experiences, as she painfully turns a tragedy into something of an opportunity. By the end of the film you will feel that you intimately know this extraordinary young woman, and you will grieve your separation from her, and her friends, when the house lights come up.
Director Leslie Harris turned her own roadblocks into a gold mine as well. In the nearly two years it took to raise the money for this film, she interviewed and got to know hundreds of young teens in Brooklyn's mostly black high schools. Her sensitive ear has brought us some of the freshest and most authentic scenes with teens of *any* color ever to be photographed. Months of rehearsals enabled the bullet train schedule the project was shot under. As a result, this film is the ride of your life.
Laughter and tears are often in competition. Chantel and two of her girl friends compare notes on sex. You are confronted with the frightening denial many teens labor under today. "Everybody knows you can only get AIDS from some dude who's been doing drugs, and girlfriend, I don't go to bed with no one like that!" "I can't make him wear that thing!" and worse. The scene is shot with a unexpected realism that is at once endearing and frightening.
Ariyan Johnson delivers a knock out performance ... she *is* Chantel. And you will feel the richer for knowing her. Ebony Jerido as Chantel's best girlfriend is one of the most indispensable supporting actresses I've ever seen. You will envy the richness of their friendship, and the depth of their communication. Harris's deft direction also makes the male actors very compelling in spite of some "unforgivable" behavior on the part of one of them.
During the Q and A session, one Afro-American in the audience said, "thank you for finally giving me a film with black people who *look* like black people." Though Ariayn as Chantel is almost magazine-spread beautiful, most of the cast have lips or hips too thick to match the finally chiseled, mocha-skinned actors that casting agents seek in Hollywood. Viewing this film, you realize what a tragic loss it has been that such believable actors have been kept away from a larger audience. Thankfully, Leslie Harris and Erwin Wilson are changing that.
PLUSES: The film has a knockout soundtrack, with mostly original rap songs composed for the film (forgot the musicians name, but his nickname is "VietNam" something.) Lyrics slyly underscore and foreshadow much of what takes place. Brilliant (how many times have I used that word) and economic use of the camera hides the fact that the film's budget ranged around $140K. If it weren't for a few grainy night scenes, you'd peg it for about $2mil.
*New Ground* in that Chantel's parents emerge as real human beings, with fully drawn hearts, minds and their own emotional baggage, vs. the cardboard cutouts that usually pass for parents in Hollywood "coming of age" films.
GOOD NEWS: MiraMax has picked up the distribution to this film which hits screens on February 21st! Video or TV viewing would border on the criminally insane. Only a full screen and your presence in a darkened auditorium will allow you to fully experience this brilliant (!) offering. Be prepared to leave the theatre a different person than you were when you walked in.
Though it has been 23 years since I was Chantel's age, or had a trace of her "attitude," this film is so involving that at times I forgot what sex or color I was! Mainstream critics will be tempted to peg this as another SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT. Don't be deceived. Though Harris is a long overdue new voice on the cinema scene, her brilliant first film speaks directly to *anyone* watching who can listen with an open heart.
-- Max Hoffmann
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