Squeeze Movie Review

I saw three movies in a row where kids were well along on the road to self-destruction before the closing credits. Squeeze looked like it was going to be the fourth variation on the same thing, only it wasn't. Director Robert Patton-Spruill is an acting teacher in Boston and he wrote the screenplay specifically for three young actors who star in the film, including Eddie Cutanda as Hector and Phuong Duong as Boa. Because the movie ends on an upbeat note, it may strike some viewers as being less “honest” than a picture that focuses on lives that are over by age 12. Still, there are kids who used to run with gangs and they managed to grow up anyhow and Squeeze shows one possible way to do that. The most talented of the kids is Tyrone Burton as Tyson, and the cinematography by Richard Moos is especially noteworthy. The script for Squeeze could have benefited from a few more drafts, but the film does represent a promising start for the future career of Robert Patton-Spruill.

1997 (R) 105m/C Tyrone Burton, Eddie Cutanda, Phuong Duong, Geoffrey Rhue, Russell Jones, Leigh Williams; D: Robert Patton-Spruill; W: Robert Patton-Spruill; C: Richard Moos; M: Bruce Flowers. Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘98: Debut Performance (Burton), Debut Performance (Cutanda, Duong). VHS, LV, Closed Caption