Laws of Gravity

The first time I saw this movie was about six years ago on either Showtime or Cinemax can't remember which. I was blown away I missed the first few minutes and thought at first that I was watching a documentary. The hyper camera work, the dialog, the more than real life acting, and very believable situations. No Hollywood style glizt and glamour here. No big name actors, no multi-Jillion dollar budgets. Just basic film making in it's rarest form; raw, unrefined in other words REAL. Real characters, no complicated plots no surprise endings no Hollywood endings no explosions no car chases and crashes. This film is a real character study and you know how it's going to end, the only way it can. (Hey Independent Film Channel why haven't you put this one air yet)?

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.

With so many movies copy-catting winning formulas,it is a shame, but no surprise, that "Laws of Gravity" is a little-seen, hardly ever-recalled movie. It got lost in the Chasing Amy/She's the One/Do the Right Thing indie over-load. And I'm not knocking those movies. But please give due credit to the "godfather" of indies,which combined a gutsy and raw, yet still highly intelligent script with near-flawless acting and, at that time, never-before-seen editing and cinematography. Can you tell I'm a fan? I too, like many other viewers, "stumbled" upon this movie while channel-surfing late at night. This will not be a review, being that I don't want to give away any key moments of the film. Rather, this is a plea to all movie lovers to beg, threaten, and/or intimidate the powers-that-be to release this film on video and DVD for, to my extreme shock, this film is nowhere to be found. (Save for the afore-mentioned "stumble".) And if you find it there, TAPE IT! This is definitely one for the personal library!

I'm not going to sit here and tell you this long drawn out synopsis about this masterpiece of a film. But, I'm not the one to leave people in the dark, so it'll be a brief synopsis.

Johnny, the main character gets canned in the slammer over some petty charge. His best friend , and the wiser, sells guns that belong to a hot-head named Frankie, this pays Johnny's bail. Frankie, Johnny's best friend (forgot character's name), and Johnny, were once this entrusting ghettoized circle of friends, now Frankie's peeved at the both of them for running guns and blowing the profits for Johnny's well-being. This begins a volatile pattern of street bravado, and someone will definitely find themselves in a unfortunate disposition.

Brilliant acting, you can't even call it acting, call it, hanging on the block with your crew. These guys are so natural and effortless. The realism and pace of this film is why cinema buffs find a reason to get up mornings.

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