No Way Home

Just saw this film for the first time, 8-Jan-06. It conveys to me why I like Boys in the Hood and New Jack City. As a self described movie person, who only learned and saw the film maker's art through the lens of the boob tube beginning in the 1960s, I would like to recommend this movie. When the movie opened up, I just assumed a mid USA rust belt city that could be any one of thousand places. Chicago, Gary Indiana, Cleveland, etc. The ending surprised me , in that the cops from NYC showed up at their parents house. The last scenes action did not.

The first half of the film I just could not stop watching. We all grow up with dreams. We all think things will be like they are in the movies. At least the famous ones. The Classics. The reality of Boys in the Hood, New Jack City and The Best Years of Our Lives, later on in the film slaps you in the face. The ending did not do it for me. Every thing leading up the ending was believable. Going back home to the old neighborhood after getting out. Getting hooked up with family. Seeing people moving on, moving to their same end. The girl who was left back and was about to by hooked up to a violent looser like Loraine's 1st husband. Diane marrying a nice quiet boy, like she thought Joey was. Joey looking around and seeing the life he thought he would have. I just could not watch the strip scene with Loraine. The last good scene was Joey and Loraine in the car talking.

I would like to hope the ending was forced on the director because of perceived market forces.

Joey gets out of prison after six years. What crime he has served we don't know yet. He goes to his parental home and rings on the door. A blonde opens. Joey asks for his brother Tommy, troubled the blonde goes to get him. A surprised Tommy invites his younger brother. Against his wife's (the blonde, Lorraine) wish Tommy and Joey agree that Joey should live at their home a while, until he gets a job and can get a place of his own.

Tommy sells grass and Lorraine works as stripper at private parties. Joey is determined to not get in to jail again and begins to work as a window cleaner. Something that Tommy think is stupid, because there's more money to earn on drugs.

Joey - who according to himself, is a bit 'slow' since an incident in childhood - develops with time a special relationship with Lorraine, who's at first is skeptical to Joey's stay in the house. Tommy appear the longer the film goes as a real asshole - he doesn't to anything home, is unfaithful and lies to his wife. When Joey asks Lorraine is happy with her situation he explain, in the key scene of the film, that marriage doesn't have any benefits; "You get marry when you're in love, then you get tired with each other". Lorraine is in any case grateful of that Tommy haven't during their more than four years together never have beaten her once. Something that her former husband did.

No Way Home (the title unfortunately sounds like an inferior action flick.) is a traditional film, without too many clichés. The director manages to work up scenes and solutions we recognize to something natural. Powerful, with an everyday tone (e.g. when Joey visits his former girlfriend).

The actors in the three leading roles are exquisite: Tim Roth as Joey does a typical Tim Roth role without because of that it would be too much Tim Roth of the role. James Russo (Tommy) makes a role portrait who resembles that kind of things he done before, but I want to rank this performance as the best I've seen from him. Deborah (Kara) Unger as Lorraine, who placed the centre of gravity on the acting and not to look sexy, convinces with her restrained acting style in her study of a woman who's become tired.

Tim Roth (Hoodlum, Reservoir Dogs) stars as a recently paroled prisoner who goes home to his older brother who has gotten married when he was in prison. His brother, played by James Russo (Donnie Brasco, Panther) lets him live with them which doesn't please his wife, very well-played by Deborah Kara Unger (The Game, The Hurricane). Soon Unger discovers that Roth is actually a pretty nice guy who is slow in the head, but wants to go legit. His brother continues to sell drugs and may bring Roth back into trouble. The film's main story is the relationships among these three people with the most focus on the brother's relationship. This relationship is especially compelling as you see the love, but also much strain and pain between these two that is revealed later. James Russo creates a very interesting character in the older brother. He isn't a standard bad brother, he obviously cares for Roth, but also will do whatever it takes to make his own life better. Russo is great from start to finish in the role. The always-reliable Tim Roth gives a powerful lead performance as the slow-minded and easily influenced, but nice younger brother. Roth very quickly gains sympathy while creating a compelling character. Highly recommended, but not a feel-good movie.

This is my first experience with a Giovinazzo film, and with all the actors, so it's totally fresh eyes. I liked the film. I knew from early on, when the brother is introduced, where the story was going to go. It would have been thrilling had I been wrong, but I wasn't. That didn't diminish the film in any way. All the production qualities were excellent, which left me only watching three actors really inform their characters. Consistency of mood I would call it. Even when there are brief happy moments, the smile or laugh is expressed, but the hard truth underneath is still apparent. There are a lot of references to Tim Roth's Joey being slow, which I don't quite buy. He carries on cohesive conversations, has logic, understands consequences, and makes decent decisions. He isn't bumbling through life. There's only one line I recall about him being very smart before, which is valid to support a change in mental capacity, but I would rather have had them refer to his malleability more that mental capacity since I did not see him as "slow". Having said that, I did accept the story line that his peers in their youth and older, rowdy, unthinking selves would call Joey that. The one thing I appreciated most about this film was the total lack of over-reacting that so often happens when there is violence. Violence and fear are part of these people's lives, so, when it happens, it's just part of that particular day. Brilliant restraint. Even at the end, there is what I might call the "look" that could have occurred between the brothers, and, thankfully, didn't. To the end, the film stayed true to it's mood and truths. That's what I think kept me engrossed in it.

Let me just get this outta the way. *ahem* This movie has two scenes where someone gets kicked in the nuts. Two! For someone like myself, that's reason enough to check it out. But if you wanna know what it's about and blah blah blah, I suppose keep reading.

After spending some time in the cooler Joey is now released and is looking to get his life back on track. He ends up heading home, and reunites with his brother. Staying at his bro's until he finds steady work all seems fine, that is until he begins realizing the outside world is still as unforgiving and selfish as it was before.

No Way Home was a good flick. It had a lowkey and unpredictable Tim Roth running the show with a decently solid supporting cast bringing up the rear. At first the movie tends to feel like it's trying too hard (overacting), but it hits a pretty serious groove and it begins becoming a very solid flick. Most probably due to the increase in sex, adult-themed conversations and gritty violence.

With some surprising developments, some nice attention to realism, and a couple kicks in the groin, this should be a nice viewing for anyone who enjoys serious drama. Tim Roth being the lead doesn't hurt the flick much either.