OK class, let's review: successful screenplays usually have at least three things in common a beginning, middle and end. Within this basic framework, we are supposed to be introduced to the main character, observe his or her conflict and, hopefully, learn how he or she resolves it. Unfortunately, Hurricane Streets starts out at the end, has too many characters and fails to resolve much of anything.
Written and directed by newcomer Morgan J. Freeman (not the famous actor), this film traces the descent of an inner-city youth gang into increasingly serious crime. We first meet this group of 5 disenfranchised adolescent boys in their headquarters -- a glorified sewer hole -- where they regularly reconnoiter to inventory their stolen merchandise and plan their next heist. Up till now, the group's leader, a boy named Marcus (Brendan Sexton III), has been wisely steering them away from high profile crime. Then one of the boys suggests they go after some real money. This perfectly acceptable plot could have been the basis for a decent, if not cliché story.
The problem is, there is no real story. Instead, the film loiters too much around its central character, Marcus. We eavesdrop on Marcus' relationship with his parentally-abused girl friend, monitor his visits with his incarcerated mother and wonder why this angry, fatherless kid hasn't completely gone off on someone. Meanwhile, the gang keeps on swearing and posturing its way through a number of theft and sewer-hole sequences until an unexpected tragedy occurs. This "stagy" event is strictly deus ex machina (theater talk for introducing an obvious, last-minute plot device), but it does have a devastating effect on the gang. Unfortunately, by this point we are basically too numb to care.
Director Freeman does know kids however, and has a good ear for dialogue. And, despite a somewhat unstructured, unresolved story, manages to elicit some poignant moments from his young actors whose performances, overall, are quite good. If nothing else, we see how painfully vulnerable these kids are -- despite their bluff facades. Given a more disciplined screenplay, we might even have cared.
Written and directed by newcomer Morgan J. Freeman (not the famous actor), this film traces the descent of an inner-city youth gang into increasingly serious crime. We first meet this group of 5 disenfranchised adolescent boys in their headquarters -- a glorified sewer hole -- where they regularly reconnoiter to inventory their stolen merchandise and plan their next heist. Up till now, the group's leader, a boy named Marcus (Brendan Sexton III), has been wisely steering them away from high profile crime. Then one of the boys suggests they go after some real money. This perfectly acceptable plot could have been the basis for a decent, if not cliché story.
The problem is, there is no real story. Instead, the film loiters too much around its central character, Marcus. We eavesdrop on Marcus' relationship with his parentally-abused girl friend, monitor his visits with his incarcerated mother and wonder why this angry, fatherless kid hasn't completely gone off on someone. Meanwhile, the gang keeps on swearing and posturing its way through a number of theft and sewer-hole sequences until an unexpected tragedy occurs. This "stagy" event is strictly deus ex machina (theater talk for introducing an obvious, last-minute plot device), but it does have a devastating effect on the gang. Unfortunately, by this point we are basically too numb to care.
Director Freeman does know kids however, and has a good ear for dialogue. And, despite a somewhat unstructured, unresolved story, manages to elicit some poignant moments from his young actors whose performances, overall, are quite good. If nothing else, we see how painfully vulnerable these kids are -- despite their bluff facades. Given a more disciplined screenplay, we might even have cared.