Laws of Gravity

You can't tell where the film crew is or their equipment, because the whole thing is so close to reality that you can't even call this a real movie. Its more than a movie, its like you're there. You're hanging out with these egregious people, on the street, in their apartments, in the bars they hang out in..its really amazing.

Not one of the actors makes one false move and you can't say that about very many movies. But like I said, they didn't appear to even BE actors in the first place. I wonder if there was a lot of improv between the actors, everything they said was so real.

You can't say a lot really happens, either, but that's exactly like real life, too!

From what I just read, this was made for the amount of money Julia Roberts makes for filming one or two scenes. Whoever said life was fair?

If you like "Laws of Gravity" you will definitely like "A year in the life of crime (1989)" from HBO. It followed a group of real losers around Jersey City for a year. A must see One of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

I would love to see a follow up to the original HBO version of this movie. It's been about 16 years and I would love to see if any of the original guys from the documentary are alive.

HBO needs to re-release "A year in the life of crime" or do the follow up. I'm sure this has been mentioned a million times in relation to this film so I will end my post here...

Brett

Back when "Independent" movies were exploding in the early 90s this little gem came out. Full disclosure, I'm a born, raised & still here native NYC boy & I knew these kinds of people. People in other reviews wonder about where these characters are from? They're from everywhere & this was the real deal back in early 90s. This is before Williamsburg & Greenpoint areas of Bklyn exploded & became gentrified 'beautiful' neighborhoods. Nick Gomez created this movie that kinda spans just a few days, that are probably like many other days in these characters' lives. Edie Falco, Paul Schultze, Peter Greene all before their big roles in the Sopranos, Nurse Jackie & Pulp Fiction for P. Greene ("Bring out the Gimp...Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead.)

Back in the early 90s, Falco & Schultze were working as waiters & bartender at my friend's bar (for real, though not for much longer obviously). Indie movie world was bursting and Nick Gomez was the hot young new director after this movie. I found it totally by chance on some cable system in NJ & showed it to my 20 yr old son. Not sure he appreciated & liked it as much as I did, but I loved the Scorsese/Cassavettes style of exploring the low gritty lives of struggling characters banging their heads against the 'mean streets' of their environment. There's not a load of action in this movie but as other reviewers noted, it feels like your a fly on the wall in these characters' lives for a few days. And for someone who's from this neighborhood, everything feels real, legit & authentic, warts & all. I totally recommend it this to anyone curious about the Indie movie world of early 90s & gritty pre-gentrified Bklyn. Just be warned it's not an action movie but it's xclnt, in my humble opinion...Enjoy.

I've heard this compared to Scorsese's "Mean Streets", but the crime and situations depicted are much more low-key than that film. This is really unique. A couple of incredibly minor Brooklyn thieves, one's wife, the other's girlfriend, and their local bottom-feeder milieu, futzing around interacting with the locals and just squeaking by. That's about the whole film, give or take a subplot about a stash of guns that our 'heroes' come into and try to sell. But it's not about plot so much, it's a character study, and the performances are incredible, so the characters stick. The two leads are both great, although Adam Trese has the gift of a part as the young psychotic/Jerry Lewis type. Edie Falco (Tony Soprano's wife in "The Sopranos") has an unusually great role as written, in the sense that they don't write too many parts as varied and interesting as this for women to play, particularly in crime-related movies. But what she does with it is pretty astonishing. It's a great performance. That director has one unusual eye for picturesque composition of unlikely subject material too. "Laws of Gravity" is an uncommonly good movie. Its dialogue-ear for humour in banal minutiae has a smell of the Tarantinos, but this pre-dated "Reservoir Dogs".

"Laws of Gravity" is a hyper-realistic docudrama and an excellent clinic on the loser mentality of the mean streets of Brooklyn. Focusing on the tribal order of several white urban hoodlums, this flick is about as real as it gets with actors...many of whom are on their first outing. A good watch for those into realism and crime films.