Straight out of Brooklyn Movie Review

This would be a fair movie for an adult director, but Matty Rich was only 19 when he made Straight out of Brooklyn, reportedly based on his own life. It's a depressing look at a Brooklyn family who live in the Red Hook Housing Project. Ray Brown (George T. Odom) beats his wife Frankie (Ann D. Sanders). Their kids Dennis (Laurence Gilliard) and Carolyn (Barbara Sanon) are desperate. Although girlfriend Shirley (Reana E. Drummond) tries to talk him out of it, Dennis and friends Larry (Rich) and Kevin (Mark Malone) plan a robbery to escape the poverty and the abuse. Generally shot with one camera and inadequate sound, Straight out of Brooklyn’s painful narrative is often hard to watch. Still, for a teenager to raise the money, finish a whole movie, and get it released was such an accomplishment that Rich was overpraised (23-year-old John Singleton's Oscar-nominated Boys N the Hood was far superior). Rich's next film was 1994's The Inkwell. I give Brooklyn two bones for content and four bones for effort, for an average of

1991 (R) 91m/C George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Lawrence Gilliard, Mark Malone Jr., Reana E. Drummond, Barbara Sanon, Matty Rich; D: Matty Rich; W: Matty Rich; C: John Rosnell; M: Harold Wheeler. Independent Spirit Awards ‘92: Best First Feature; Sundance Film Festival ‘91: Special Jury Prize. VHS