The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Mar
14
2007

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS DVD REVIEW

Posted by Canfield at 1:59pm.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Drama, USA & Canada.

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Has anyone else seen A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints? I’m not sure why it didn’t get more attention around Awards season. Stellar cast, great performances and solid direction should have added up to more accolades. It could be that people found this coming of age story just too slow. I found it powerful and moving. Writer Dito Montiel has crafted his own coming of age story that is part a haunting from a past filled with regret and revelation of just how beautiful life is even at it’s most tragic. “In the end I left everything and everyone but no one, no one has ever left me.” It’s as true a statement about family, community and striking out on your own as has ever been offered for this writer. And the film also doubles as a look back at New Yorks Queens in the eighties, as tough a neighborhood as Scorcese ever lived in. A survivors tale writ large this is mythic yet down to earth stuff and deserves a look by anyone whose ever wondered how we can drift so close and so far from one another trying find our way through the human sea. Audio commentary, making of doc, deleted scenes, alternative opening and ending and a cast that includes Chaz Palminteri, Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson and Shia LeBeouf make this a must have.

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Reader Comments

  1. fiskofury 03/14/2007 @ 3:34pm

    I saw this when it screened at the Museum of the Moving Image. Both Dito Montiel and Chazz Palminteri were there with a Q&A;after, which was cool. I liked the film but I thought the editing and cinematography really rocked. Not sure if I agree with it being a “must own” for I personally wouldn’t watch the film multiple times. It is a good film though!

  2. William 03/14/2007 @ 8:55pm

    Brutal and honest. I can’t think of another film in the last ten years that had this much heart. I was really touched by the story and the emotion. It is so stripped down and raw. I will add it to my collection just to keep me honest as a filmmaker.

  3. Drewbacca 03/15/2007 @ 1:02pm

    I liked the cast - very real and seemed unscripted much of it. I also really dug the settings (I’m a sucker for the 70s period films that are portrayed well… “Zodiac” anyone?).
    But I can’t see myself watching this again I guess because I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. I didn’t seem to care about any of them at all except Shia’s (main) character. It just seemed to be full of bad people who make poor decisions constantly. I liked the film and I think most others on this board will too, but I hav a feeling the book is way better (per usual).

    Also needed MUCH more Downey Jr.
    -----

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