Pretty Good

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Legacy is a film about...well, I'm not sure, actually. It's about a lot of things - maybe too many things. That seems to be its major flaw. It's about a teenage girl battling her way out of the projects - or so we're led to believe. Nickcole Collins serves as the film's narrator, and we assume the story will be told from her point of view. That isn't necessarily the case. We're led on a journey that takes many deviations and detours. We learn about the history of poverty and hardship from which Nickcole is attempting to distance herself, but about halfway through the film, the filmmakers seem to get sidetracked with the more sensational stories of Nickcole's relatives - her down-trodden mother, unable to free herself from the mental bonds of poverty - her drug-addicted aunt - attempting to carve out a life for herself after years of 'dropping out' of life - and her long-suffering grandmother, who has been there to pick up the pieces of her children's self-destructive choices.These are all very interesting stories in their own right, but after a point, I started to wonder what had become of Nickcole. We're briefly made aware of her progress, and are matter-of-factly told that she's made a major life decision - but we're not there to witness any of it. This is the danger of attempting to cover too much ground as a filmmaker - particularly when you're working with a limited budget. Lending obviously could not be in more than one place at a time, and it shows. For extended periods throughout the movie, we're left wondering what became of its principal subject.There were also several editing decisions that I did not quite understand. At one point, we watch Nickcole's aunt grooming herself in the mirror before an important event, and rather than cutaway to still photos (a technique skillfully employed throughout the film), we find ourselves getting an impromptu behind-the-scenes look at one of the cinematographers - clearly seen in the mirror's reflection. This shot doesn't just last a split second - we can see the cameraman struggling to angle the camera in such a way that he cannot be seen by the viewer. This goes on for far too long. Why not find some creative way to conceal this botched shot while leaving the audio intact? Cleaning up that shot, and a few others, would have taken nothing more than time, effort and creativity.That said, I truly enjoyed the subject matter. I found the stories depicted here rich and compelling. Each of them would have made for a great subject in their own right. In the end, this is a film that might have left a greater legacy in the hands of a more skilled filmmaker.

This film has been lauded just about everywhere, and for good reason: it's a brilliant documentary that offers riveting drama while showing you that REAL people can overcome tremendous odds and find meaning in their lives.'Legacy' tracks (over five years) three generations of a Chicago family condemned to ghetto life until a traumatic event -- the murder of one of them -- begins to slowly effect positive change in all of them.Women figure prominently (and powerfully) in this film. The grandmother, daughter and grand-daughter are all very strong females who, without help from men, overcome through sheer power of will, determination and religious belief. These women are truly inspirational lessons to us all. There is a great deal of emotion in Tod Lending's 'Legacy,' and if you can get through its 90 minutes with dry eyes, you must be stone-cold void of emotion.

"Legacy" is a basic, well-made film documenting five years of the Collins family. After the shooting of the oldest son, the other family members try to overcome despair, pick up the pieces, then gain inspiration from their deceased loved one and use it to improve their lives. It's a very straightforward film that does an efficient job of presenting the subjects and telling their stories. Apart from the occasional shot of a family photo, we're seeing things in motion. The films covers a breadth of characters, from the motivated Nicole, who is under pressure to go to college and save the family, to her mother who can't commit to a job, to her aunt, struggling to kick a cocaine addiction, to her grandmother, a dedicated parent who has been trying all her life to get away from the projects.The film makes up for its subjects' weak powers of verbal articulation both by capturing their physical language--facial expressions, hand and body movements, and vocal tones--and with a voiceover (delivered by Nicole) that is very effective but a bit overworked.All in all, "Legacy" is full of drama, humor, and is simple understated documentary storytelling at its best. We do get a few accidental (and amusing) glimpses of the camera crew, but it's not nearly enough to endanger the reality of this compelling and moving drama.