Five Corners

Life in the Bronx in 1964. A psycho gets out of prison and picks up where he left off, affecting the lives of people he knew. Has some funny moments and a couple interesting sub-plots. Excellent cast in this Hand-made indy: Jody Foster, Tim Robbins, Todd Graff as Jodie's limp-legged boyfriend, and John Turturro as the psycho.

Offbeat--to say the least--comedy-drama from director Tony Bill and writer/co-producer John Patrick Shanley combines unforced, unshowy nostalgia with dark (and rather wobbly) comedic undertones. In a troubled Bronx neighborhood in the 1960s, Jodie Foster is a young woman hounded by just-released convict John Turturro, while Tim Robbins is a former classmate reevaluating his priorities based on turbulent world events. Foster has little to work with in a weakly-written role (she's not going to meet this nutcase in the park at night!), but Robbins' quiet sincerity is lovely, and his handsome face and expressive manner keeps the film grounded in reality. Overall, it's much too flighty, with a melodramatic final 30 minutes which doesn't do anything good for anybody--least of all the viewer. However, there is some dryly eccentric humor in Shanley's screenplay, and when director Bill's touch is light the film generally works. **1/2 from ****

It's 1964 The Bronx. Violent Heinz (John Turturro) returns to his neighborhood after getting out of prison for an attempted rape of Linda (Jodie Foster). Harry (Tim Robbins) rescued Linda the first time but has turn pacifist since then. Somebody shoots a teacher with an arrow. Castro and Willie are two kids blowing up a store sign with cherry bombs. They pick up Melanie and Brita who are out of it from sniffing glue. Heinz is after Linda again thinking he's in love with her. Jamie would like to be her boyfriend who protects her.

This movie is split in two. Turturro, Foster and Robbins inhabit one half. Turturro is great as the disturbed rapist. The penguins are weird. The acting is good but the script meanders a bit with a lot of strange turns. The other half has four lesser known actors. The girls are funny. It's odd that it seems to float on the surface of the movie without connecting to the other half. I do find the unknown actors' story interesting especially the elevator scene. I kept wondering what that story has to do with anything. The final reveal satisfied me to some extent. I wish it could have made more connections earlier in the movie.

The kind of film that doesn't get made anymore in Hollywood. Original story, great atmosphere, wonderful acting. A somewhat quirky but still powerful human drama. Somehow, everything just fits in this film. Given the cast, it's hard to believe it is so little known. One to be re-discovered (hopefully). 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

This film is a little gem. A very good quirky understated drama. The story is well-developed, reasonably believable, and directed quite nicely. The story is set in a New York neighborhood in the time period of early 60s - both aspects are portrayed well in the film - realistic and believable but not so hammed up as to come across as phony. The acting is superb. Tarturro is great - plays the part of a local psycho bully very well - quite edgy and frightening but not over-the-top. Both Jodie Foster and Tim Robbins also do really well in this movie and is probably the best of that time period (the 80s) for either actor. Would recommend the movie for anyone looking for a good drama or for a movie with some social commentary that does not overwhelm the story.