Our Song

source: Our Song

Our Song is a marvelous example of passionate, movie making at its aesthetic best. It is, in fact, a genuine wonder of a movie; a penetrating and insightful work of art that chronicles the lives of three young inner city (Crown Heights, Brooklyn) girls during a particular summer in their lives when the perplexities of their approaching adulthood will compel each of them to make a number of difficult, life altering choices that will likely re-define who each of them is, as well as how they will continue to relate to one another in years to come. Jim McKay's writing/direction is graceful and uncluttered. There is no sappy, gratuitous sentimentality nor are there cliché ridden solutions in this film. What we see here seems, at times, to be heart breakingly real. There is a naturalism - a credibility, if you will - in Our Song that surpasses that of other giants in this genre, including American Graffiti and Cooley High. Much of the credit for the film's spirit goes to its principle actors. The combined presence of Melisa Martinez (Maria), Kerry Washington (Lanisha), and Anna Simpson (Joycelyn) is dazzlingly powerful. It would be easy - and, of course, blatantly obtuse - to dismiss, as some apparently have, the performances of these three as apathetic or unemotional. In fact, their quiet charm, their instinctive sense of dignity and their raw, sometimes unconventional intelligence, throughout the film, are absolutely riveting. One would have to be completely "out of touch" with, or completely indifferent to, the behavior of teenagers to miss the resounding authenticity in what these three young ladies bring to the screen. Likewise, the supporting cast, particularly Marlene Forte as Lanisha's mother, compliments the work of the three girls as well as the overall tone of the film. Our Song is a film not to be missed - by anyone of any age.

Our Song is by today's standards a precious little indie movie. It's clumsy, somewhat cheap-looking, strives for the cinema verite blend of social awareness but can't help but betray its own sense of realism with predictable Hollywood story-beats. Yet when Our Song came out in the year 2000, it must have been something of revelation. Lest we forget that when filmmakers dared to focus on the urban black experience in earnest, the films largely aimed the lens at masculine subject matter. Boyz 'N the Hood (1991), Menace II Society (1993), Gridlock'd (1997), by comparison the only thing young black women had to latch onto was A Different World (1987-1993). Enter music video director Jim McKay, whose one-two punch of Girls Town (1996) and Our Song explored the complex and grounded worlds of young black women, as they formed friendships, experimented with boys, confronted forms of oppression and otherwise forged their own identities, under the backdrop of urban decay. At least those films did so as well as a white director could explore those themes without coming across as flaccid or worse paternalistic. Our Song is the better of the two. In it, three Brooklyn teens, all members of the elite Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band, try to hang onto each other as pillars of support before their school closes for asbestos removal. Lanisha (Washington) the one with the most stable family life, i.e. divorced parents on relatively good terms, realizes early on that the other two are taking divergent paths. Joycelyn (Simpson), takes a job at a local boutique and befriends the older girls working there, while Maria (Martinez) battles with the complex emotions that come with an unexpected pregnancy. It's easy to see how this kind of mix of after-school-special clichés could have gotten Novel by Sapphire (2009) real quick. Yet little in the film really transpires like you think it will. It's a true example of characters balancing their resolve and opportunities (or lack thereof), hiding their vulnerabilities, leaning on each other while realizing they all will just have to depend less and less on each other over time. It's just a part of growing up. Our Song focuses almost exclusively on the aspect of growing pains and as a result the audience is compelled by the meta-narrative to think about times people in your life drifted away. I myself can recall several occasions over the course of my life when the one thing that formed close bonds suddenly ceased to be a la high school, soccer, a move to a different town. Yet one can't help but wish the film didn't trim so much fat from the process. Many of the subplots build towards some kind of confrontation. Much ado is made about Maria's secrecy towards her mother (Lopez), a point that is juxtaposed by Lanisha's relationship with her own parents. Yet nothing ever really comes of this other than Maria shrugging off her mom's realization that the school is closing. Likewise Joycelyn's departure from the group is given the promise of a confrontation but it never arrives. Of course these concerns are beside the point given that the film is about drifting apart, not clashing together. While it'd be nice to get a sense of closure from a movie that wouldn't be hurt by it, the truth of the matter is Our Song is true to form. Much like friendships formed in high school, the film ends and you're not exactly sure how or why but there's definitely a lump in your throat. Our Song is maybe a little dated and may be a bit too concerned with its dressed-down style. Yet its message and its personality shine through. Its earnestness is almost certainly a virtue, especially considering it explores the foibles of a population that rarely gets attention in cinema. Our Song may not be my favorite coming-of-age film but it's certainly someone's.

"Our Song" looks at three inner-city (Brooklyn, NY) High School girl best friends with a surprisingly natural realism considering how much male DNA is behind the film. The trio of principals (Washington, Martinez, Simpson) get down with the issues of day-to-day living in the projects as they deal with parental units, girl issues, school, boys, etc. making for a pleasant and easy-going watch devoid of the usual sex, drugs, and rap-n-roll one might expect to see. An unusually believable and enjoyable watch as indies go, "Our Song" will probably play best with females. (C+)

These were the oldest fifteen-year-olds I've ever seen. No, I don't mean that the actors playing fifteen-year-olds were older than normal, Hollywood routinely has twenty-somethings play teenagers. I mean these kids were pretty much adults. They had jobs, came and went as they pleased, got pregnant, got abortions, and generally grew up too fast. "Our Song" focused on three Crown Heights, Brooklyn high school girls: Joycelyn (Anna Simpson), Maria (Melissa Martinez), and Lanisha (Kerry Washington); with a greater focus on Maria and Lanisha. The movie was largely directionless. It played more like a series of disconnected scenes rather than a single cohesive story. Too often the dialog, while it resembled real life, was not suitable for a movie. It did nothing to advance the plot or develop the characters. It's clear that we were supposed to sympathize with the struggles of these girls, but the lack of compelling dialog, engaging characters, or even a moving soundtrack made the whole movie seem like a trip to the grocery store. Maybe that was the goal of the movie--to make things that would be dramatic for other families seem blahze in Crown Heights. It's obvious the budget was small, but that's no excuse. This movie won some awards and was nominated for others, though I can't see why. I wanted to like the movie. I was expecting something powerful and moving. The most interesting part of this movie was seeing a younger slightly plumper Kerry Washington.

I tuned into this by accident on the independent film channel and was riveted. I'm a professional actor and I was flabbergasted by the performances. They felt totally improvisatory, absolutely without affectation. I could not tell if it was scripted or how it was shot and waited until the very end to see credits and then spent a half an hour on the IMDb to find this film. Do not miss it. I see that the writer-director also did a very fine film called Everyday People which I enjoyed a lot. The shame of the film business is that projects this excellent do not get the distribution and advertising that they deserve and live under the radar. This film deserves to be flown high and proudly. I urge people to look it up and watch it.

What a special little film following the summer of three young 15 year-old girls and the transition they are beginning to make into adulthood! I couldn't believe these girls weren't for real and that they were actresses. There was a wealth of subject matter going on and I couldn't do it justice by commenting much on it here. I can only encourage others to watch it. This movie was non traditional movie making and acting in every way. Everyone in Hollywood should sit down and watch this movie and learn. I've book marked everyone in this movie and will be watching out for them in the future. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for more works coming from the producer and director. I highly recommend this movie. Bravo!

Fifteen and wondering what will happen in the future. Trying to figure out what you can and cannot do with boys without getting into trouble. Trying to figure out how to be as cool as I wanted to be without losing who I was becoming. I found this film very true-to-life, it reminded me of my cousins, nieces, and friends in this stage of life (and of course, myself). I only hope many young people will see it on DVD and many adults will take to heart the tentative movements this film portrays and give the kids a break.

As a young black/latina woman I am always searching for movies that represent the experiences and lives of people like me. Of course when I saw this movie at the video store I thought I would enjoy it; unfortunately, I didn't. Although the topics presented in the film are interesting and relevant, the story was simply not properly developed. The movie just kept dragging on and on and many of the characters that appear on screen just come and go without much to contribute to the overall film. Had the director done a better job interconnecting the scenes, perhaps I would have enjoyed it a bit more. Honestly, I would recommend a film like "Raising Victor" over this one any day. I just was not too impressed.

I saw this film earlier today, and I was amazed at how accurate the dialog is for the main characters. It didn't feel like a film - it felt more like a documentary (the part I liked best). The leading ladies in this film seemed as real to me as any fifteen year-old girls I know. All in all, a very enjoyable film for those who enjoy independent films.