This was one of those films that came across like an attempt to create a "respectable" Black gangster film, but falls somewhere short of the mark. Centering around the drug-dealing activities of a group of childhood friends, led by "Tristan" (Allen Payne), the film fails to adequately show how Payne's character evolved into such a materialistic and brutal drug lord. Reared in what is portrayed as a happy, loving, two-parent, middle-class family, Tristan suddenly emerges as an adolescent--barely out of puberty--capable of blowing the head off of anyone who would thwart his drug-dealing enterprises. The neighborhood drug kingpin "Benny" (Clarence Williams III), who initially invited these young boys into his fold, becomes engaged in a battle for turf with his former protégés when they reach adulthood. Only Tristan, the story's protagonist, survives and leaves the drug business after having discovered that his drug-addicted younger sister is in the hospital struggling for life after having consumed an overdose of crack cocaine, the very substance with which he has built an empire.
This film is action-packed & filled with plot twists (too many), and should be a hit with a significant portion of the twenty-something-and-under audience, mainly those accustomed to heavy doses of film violence. Yet many viewers may find something almost comical, and probably disturbing, about the inexplicable personality traits of the character Tristan (Allen Payne) and the seedy and aging Benny (Clarence Williams III). Additionally, viewers familiar with Blaxploitation-era films will notice that this feature seemed to lean heavily on the film-industry-demanded formula for Black films of the 1970s, which portrayed most Black female characters as weak &/or morally deficient &/or expendable (Pam Grier excluded). There are no well-defined female characters in this film. Tristan's wife tries to appear long-suffering and wants him out of the drug business, but is attached to the luxury that his criminality affords her. Benny's girlfriend is attached to him primarily for his financial support. These factors are sure to ruffle some feathers. Other viewers, however, may see this film as an action-packed adventure and a genuine Black contribution to the genre of gangster films where audiences identify with, respect, and sometimes sympathize with characters that they wouldn't go near in real life (Can You Say "The Godfather"?) These various impressions, however, leave you wondering exactly what "Blue Hill Avenue" is trying to say or do.
All of the actors in this film, most notably Allen Payne and Clarence Williams III, breathed life into characters that we are never quite sure we believe, which says more about the immense talent of the cast than about the film itself. A sophisticated audience, however, will wonder whether some pertinent scenes are laying on the editor's floor.
