Sorry, this movie sucks

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Crappy film

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Five Corners" concerns several people living in a Bronx neighborhood in 1964 .There are two independent plots ,one involving two girls who look like if they were part of girls group of the era ,the Ronettes,the Crystals or most likely the Shangri Las .The merit of this period piece is to be able to create an atmosphere without using the oldies but goldies of the time (the girls group's classics for instance).The only songs we hear are the Beatles ' "in my life" which 1) is British 2)was released late 1965 and is a bit irrelevant as the movie is not treated as a flashback and a brief excerpt of Dylan's "the times they are a changing" ,which makes sense since the hero (Tim Robbins)wants to help his black brothers (it was the Civil Rights time ,and Luther King was the Man of hope)who,on the other hand, are not that much excited by his "help" .A psychotic (John Turturro) ,released from jail ,scares a young girl (Jodie Foster) he tried to rape before.Both Robbins' and Turturro's are present:the former is a widow -her husband was a policeman killed in a riot- who does not want her son to commit himself (to fighting for causes she does not believe in anyway:for her,black people are still n......) ,the latter is an extravagant woman ,who seems to live in another world,who seems interested only in her ludicrous hairdo .In 1964,before Flower Power ,bed-ins and peace and love hippies ,the question which must be asked after watching "Five Corners" would be :is non-violence the solution?The movie would tend to prove that it isn't.

I am a big fan of John Turturro after seeing him in all the Coen Bros movies. When I had a chance to catch this movie, I was blown away by the great performances. Particularly Turturro's as the neighborhood psycho. If you are the kind of person that can sit down and watch an old "Playhouse 90" episode and marvel at how great the talent was, and what those stars have become over the years, then Five Corners is a "must see". The movie was set in the 60's, so nothing seems dated by todays terms. The cinematography was good at the time it was filmed, although I'm sure the camera angles and lighting would be a little different if it was filmed today. If I find it in the bargain bin, I'll own it.

Turturro plays a brutal psycho released from prison, and Foster plays the woman in peril. Neither is really pressed hard here, therefore.Robbins plays a guy who protected Foster before, but who is volunteering to go south to help the rights of blacks in the south, being inspired by Martin Luther King (this being a period drama). Foster also has a boyfriend who was crippled by Turturro when she was attacked.Turturro has a weird gift for Foster, and there's a teacher who inexplicably gets shot by an arrow. Meanwhile, there's a pair of guys who are paid to look after two glue-sniffing. And there's a pair of cops and so on...A strange drama with moments of comedy that don't really fit in comfortably. Seems more like an awkward play awkwardly made into a film.

This film is a little gem. A very good quirky understated drama. The story is well-developed, reasonably believable, and directed quite nicely. The story is set in a New York neighborhood in the time period of early 60s - both aspects are portrayed well in the film - realistic and believable but not so hammed up as to come across as phony. The acting is superb. Tarturro is great - plays the part of a local psycho bully very well - quite edgy and frightening but not over-the-top. Both Jodie Foster and Tim Robbins also do really well in this movie and is probably the best of that time period (the 80s) for either actor. Would recommend the movie for anyone looking for a good drama or for a movie with some social commentary that does not overwhelm the story.