AMONGST FRIENDS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 8.4
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:27 Rated: R (Language, mature themes, violence)
Starring: Steve Parlavecchio, Patrick McGaw, Joseph Lindsey,
Mira Sorvino
Director: Rob Weiss
Producer: Matt Blumberg
Screenplay: Rob Weiss
Music: Mick Jones
Released by Fine Line Features
Andy (Steve Parlavecchio), Trevor (Patrick McGaw), and Billy (Joseph Lindsey) have grown up together in the Long Island community of Five Towns. By their own admission, their friendship started almost from birth. However, relationships that were once strong begin to fracture with the onset of adulthood. A drug bust gone bad sends Trevor to prison and he emerges a disillusioned man. Billy becomes a big-time hood using Andy as his gopher, a role that the somewhat-timid twenty-three year old is desperate to escape from.
AMONGST FRIENDS is another story about crime in America, but instead of telling about the "have nots" of society, the film focuses on three boys who come from wealthy, respectable families. Bored and satisfied with comfortable lives where all their conventional wants are met, they crave something different and exciting. Andy's grandfather, who built his fortune as a bookie, and his gangster friends become inspirations and role models.
The three main characters couldn't be more different. Trevor is a dreamer and a romantic, a man to whom freedom and love mean more than all the money in the world. His feelings for Laura (Mira Sorvino, daughter of GOODFELLAS actor Paul Sorvino) bring him back to Five Towns following a lengthy absence, and it's his return that sets in motion the events of this film.
Billy is, plain and simple, a thoroughly unlikable bully. In fact, if there's an obvious flaw in any of the characters, it's that he has absolutely no redeeming characteristics. It's hard to see what anyone else could possibly see in someone so completely despicable.
Of the three, Andy is the most unsatisfied with life. Each of his friends has something while he's still striving for that one big score that will fill the gaping void. It isn't that he needs the money--he can get that from his parents any time he wants it--but the cash is a way of proving that he can hit the big time, even if it is gained through drug deals.
Solid performances by the lead actors, not to mention strong support from a cast of equally-unfamiliar names, bring these people to life. Through the entire film, there's not a bad acting job to be found, and a couple of the players excel. Patrick McGaw is superlative, as is Mira Sorvino, despite the limitations of the role. Also worthy of note is Ms. Sorvino's grandfather, Ford Sorvino, who has a series of hilarious cameos that provide most of the film's scarce comic relief. Apparently, there's a lot of talent in that family.
AMONGST FRIENDS never lets up. Scene after scene flashes by, often moving the plot along at dizzying speeds. Movies less economic with dialogue and story development might take an hour longer to tell the same tale. The transitions in AMONGST FRIENDS are frequently abrupt, and writer/director Rob Weiss obviously doesn't believe in wasting screen time.
In fact, it could be argued that the film moves too fast, especially at the beginning when it takes a while to sort out who the individual characters are and exactly what they're up to. The voiceover narrative by Andy doesn't help much since there's too much information to absorb in such a short time.
This is one of those low-budget motion pictures (it cost only $900,000 to make) that succeeds wildly because it takes chances. Eschewing formulas is dangerous territory for a production team that wants their product to hit it big; fortunately, there's still a market for this kind of small, independently-made movie. Apparently the big distribution companies know something good when they see it, though, because Weiss has recently signed a three picture deal with Universal.
Don't look for easy answers in AMONGST FRIENDS, because you won't find them. In fact, the film doesn't really offer any solutions. The problems are obvious, as are the tragic consequences of certain actions, but if Weiss has any answers, he doesn't share them with us.
In the final analysis, AMONGST FRIENDS works not because it's an expose of upscale, suburban violence and drug use, but because it takes the time to develop its characters so that the events which swirl around them involve us. Emotional honesty is difficult for many films, but this one attains it, and when something devastating happens on screen, the reverberations shake the theater and the people sitting in it.
That's the kind of experience that AMONGST FRIENDS offers. It's not safe, comfortable, or lighthearted, nor is it completely original, but it's definitely memorable. With plenty of movies available offering fluff, this is among the rare exceptions that don't pull punches and always hit hard.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews