Pinero Movie Review 2001

Change of pace role for Bratt, best known for clean-cut characters on the right side of the law. Although he physically did not resemble the Puerto Rican poet/playwright/actor Miguel Pinero, Bratt gives a dynamic performance as the street smart hustler/heroin addict who died at age 40 in 1988. An ex-con who did time at Sing-Sing, Pinero put his experience to use with the Tony Award-nominated play, "Short Eyes," and was one of the founders of the Nuyorican Cafe. Film is non-chronological, which can get confusing, and few of the secondary characters have enough screen time to make strong impressions.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 103 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Drug Use & Abuse, New York, New York, Period Piece: 1970s, Period Piece: 1980s, Biopics: Writers, Out of Order, Hispanic America, Sex & Sexuality, Poetry, Homeless, Ex-Cons, Out of Order

Screenplay

Leon Ichaso

Cast

Benjamin Bratt, Talisa Soto, Giancarlo Esposito, Rita Moreno, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Irby, Michael Wright, Nelson Vasquez, Jaime Sanchez, Rome Neal

Cinematography

Claudio Chea

Director

Leon Ichaso

Other

Andy Edelman, Kenny Vance, Ken Weiss, David Tedeschi, Timothy Whidbee, Sandra Hernandez, Sharon Lomofsky

Producer

John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, Tim Williams, GreeneStreet Films, Lower East Side Films, Miramax Films