The Nickel Children

Child prostitution from the child's point of view unfolds as if it were a reality show.

Survival sex, psychological and physical abuse play out as just another day around the way. And there's not the usual boatload of back story to bog things down. Just a couple of kids who've ran away from a bad situation at home and stepped into a stinkier pile on the streets. Tamara Hope as Cat is engrossing and seductive. Reily Mclendon as her partner in crime and would-be suitor is refreshingly naive while simultaneously street savvy. And Tom Sizemore as their "landlord"delivers his usual on screen punch.

Without going into great length about it, I happen to have experienced a significant part of my own youth amid kids on the street who were near identical to the two main characters you'll see in the film. From that very eye opening period in my life I can tell you that the film delivers a grim but honest and tragic realism that is rarely captured in American cinema.

Its not at all a contrived melodrama as some might expect, but a story of two kids who find themselves in desperation; surviving as they can and as they must within the coldest and most callous reaches of a world many may never know, but far too many undoubtedly will.

The characters and performances are believable and the script and story feels authentic. The pacing for these kind of dramas is never close to what it might be in the real world, but it gives us much of the information we need to feel the connection to our two young survivors, know their motivations and reasons behind their situations, yet still moves fast enough to keep things compelling and the story in motion.

If you have the opportunity to see this, by all means do. While its not quite near a "Christiane F" (1981), it is far superior to "Where The Day Takes You" (1994) and deserves a place among some the best films that depict the true to life struggles of children who are cast out, or escape an unbearable home life, only to be devoured by the streets.

I was lucky enough to attend the May 19th screening of The Nickel Children in San Diego and I have to say...I can see why Eric Litra's script was a winner in the Nicholl's Fellowship Screen writing Competition, a hard contest to win. Although a sad story, it opened up the audience to a world that we only "hear" about in passing. . . or maybe on TV once in awhile in a documentary or on the news. If you are not involved in some way in this world; know someone in it, work with the kids to get them out, been in it yourself, the movie really opens up your eyes to the heartache of it. Ryan Johnson of Pretty Dangerous Films and Glen Klinker (Director) (nice guys!) did a great job bringing the script to life, as well as the wonderful actors involved. Being a writer myself, I loved that PDF and Glen pretty much kept Eric Litra's script the same, (only one change) and kept him on as the only writer. That's not always the norm in this "movie making" biz, and I'm sure Eric appreciated it. Great job all! Go see this movie. It will touch your heart.

Lisa D. Merrill San Diego