The allure of seeing Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore in the same film was what made us watch this uneven movie the other night. We knew the picture didn't fare well with the critics and the public when it made its debut early in the year, yet, with a director like Joe Roth and a screen play by the author of the novel in which it's based, Richard Price, we wondered, how could it be that bad?
The film capitalizes on the tensions created when Brenda Martin, an assistant teacher at one of the schools in the housing project, reports to have been hijacked on a lonely piece of the road next to the complex. What's worse, her four year old son was riding in the child's seat in the back. The missing boy is the nephew of a white cop from the next time, which appears to be a place where cops don't always play by the rules. Tensions in the projects are exacerbated by the white police unit from the neighboring town when they plant barricades around the complex as they look for the missing boy.
Lorenzo Council, the detective to answers the call about the hijacking senses Brenda is hiding a lot more than she is telling. Lorenzo has a good standing in the predominantly black community, but the tensions that this incident provokes puts this to a test. It doesn't take too long for him, or us, to figure out the mystery.
Julianne Moore, one of the most exciting actresses working in movies these days, shows how vulnerable she was in accepting this role for which she seems to be wrong. Samuel L. Jackson's Lorenzo doesn't fare as bad, although his appearance in the film is not as effective as in some of his best movies. Other notable faces in the cast, Edie Falco, Ron Eldard, William Forsyth, Anthony Mackie, and Aunjanue Ellis.
The film capitalizes on the tensions created when Brenda Martin, an assistant teacher at one of the schools in the housing project, reports to have been hijacked on a lonely piece of the road next to the complex. What's worse, her four year old son was riding in the child's seat in the back. The missing boy is the nephew of a white cop from the next time, which appears to be a place where cops don't always play by the rules. Tensions in the projects are exacerbated by the white police unit from the neighboring town when they plant barricades around the complex as they look for the missing boy.
Lorenzo Council, the detective to answers the call about the hijacking senses Brenda is hiding a lot more than she is telling. Lorenzo has a good standing in the predominantly black community, but the tensions that this incident provokes puts this to a test. It doesn't take too long for him, or us, to figure out the mystery.
Julianne Moore, one of the most exciting actresses working in movies these days, shows how vulnerable she was in accepting this role for which she seems to be wrong. Samuel L. Jackson's Lorenzo doesn't fare as bad, although his appearance in the film is not as effective as in some of his best movies. Other notable faces in the cast, Edie Falco, Ron Eldard, William Forsyth, Anthony Mackie, and Aunjanue Ellis.