The plight of tough kids in rough neighborhoods has been a popular theme for films for decades. Some years ago movies such as ‘Blackboard Jungle’ and ‘To Sir, with Love’ made ways by showing the violence and disruption that the inner city teens consider normal. Times have changed and the degree of mayhem has substantially increased all most major American cities. Film has kept up with these changes and now a typical movie about teens in the city can be more violent that a war flick. One of the largest contributions to this increase is the sheer numbers of weapons that have become widely available to young people. In the fifties there were switchblades and zip guns and maybe an occasional revolver but little else. Almost on a regular basis you will see a segment in the local news of a weapons raid in a nearby high school and the table displaying the haul at the police station looks as if it could arm a Special Forces unit. It is not uncommon for kids in street gangs to have access to automatic weapons that can empty a thirty round clip in mere seconds. The independent film ‘Weapons’ by Adam Bhala Lough is one of the latest to take on this dire subject. Although this is an important topic and one that affects us all admittedly it has been done numerous times just in the last few years. This film is graphic; perhaps overly so at times.

The choice of weapons has changed over time but the fundamental reasons behind the escalating violence have for the most part remained the same. A segment of the youth has always felt disaffected, bored and aimless. With nothing else to pass the time they become a powder keg where the slightest perceived insult can ignite into an all out war. This film begins with a fairly strong premise but is unable to probe deeper into the issues. The scope of the movie is very ambitious and perhaps that is what detracts from its ability to succeed. The overall narrative of the story is lost along the way. It may have reached its goal if it was a documentary which would have heightened the sense of immediacy in addressing this prevalent problem in our society. This is an independent film and as such a certain experimental feel is to be expected. It also means that while the film did not reach its potential there is a sense that this was an honest try and that the cast and crew posses enough talent so that their subsequent work will demonstrate an improvement. With Indy film makers, especially relatively new ones, they are on a learning curve and you should not expect everything to gel together. As always the distributor of this film, Lion’s Gate, is willing to give a small film a chance at a wider audience with its DVD release. The film has its faults but there is something that provides a glimpse of far better things.

The film was written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough. This is his second feature length film with two shorts done prior to that. Lough is developing well in both crafts although there is room for improvement. The story is your basic rival teen groups coming to grips with their environment and social pressures. A racial element is introduced by having the two opposing factions as black and white. This is socially relevant but there is a feel of the friction being overly contrived. The even that precipitates the violence of the story is an attack made on a young girl prompting her brother to seek revenge. This theme has been around since the Bible and there is little in the way of a fresh approach here. Many are quick to note that the story lacks substance but I feel that this may actually have been intentional. When you are looking at the senseless killings that occur all too often you shouldn’t expect a lot in the way of motivation. The point here is there is little motivation needed for a neighborhood to erupt into murder in the streets. What the story could have done to elevate itself is delve deeper into the personalities of the characters. Most are written with too broad a brush and come off as shallow stereotypes. If it is not feasible to provide a novel story at least give us characters with some substance.

As a director Lough is promising. The basic stylistic choice is to play with the chronology of the story. It starts out with Reggie (Nick Cannon) enjoying a cheeseburger but this idyllic scene is rudely interrupted when a shotgun blast rings out. The format of the film is ordered by effect and cause. We see the aftermath prior to viewing the situation that lead up to them. This is a difficult methodology to master even for a seasoned director. It was done best in 2000 with Christopher Nolan’s experimental master piece ‘Memento’. Lough is courageous for his attempt even it if presents as haphazard in construction. Again this may be intended to reflect the life of these kids. The media usually focuses on the tragic results not the cause behind it. The visual style is gritty and grainy. Much of the camera work is with a handheld camera and as a result jumpy. There has to be some other way to get the concept of young and urban without causing vertigo in the audience. The cinematographer, Manuel Alberto Claro does do a good job at setting up interesting shots and staging the action. The film’s editor Jay Rabinowitz keeps the pacing high which is quit a feat considering the constant movement back in time.

The aforementioned Reggie is pulled into the dire events when his sister Sabrina (Regine Nehy) comes home with a black eye. As it turns out she was beaten and raped. Reggie is not the typical gangster type but this is just too much for him to take. Sabrina tells her brother that the man who did this to her was Jason (Riley Smith) a young man in a different social circle. Reggie becomes obsessed with finding a gun to expedite his plan for vengeance. One bit of social commentary here is the amazing ease in finding a weapon. Jason is basically a stoner who hangs out with this best buddy Chris (Paul Dano). They are joined by Sean (Mark Webber) who has just come back to the old neighborhood after his freshman year in college. Reggie’s friends are more typically found playing basketball and include Mikey (Jade Yorker) and the younger group member James (Brandon Smith). There is a certain symmetry found when contrasting the two groups of friends. Under more reasonable circumstances they could have been close friends.

Due to the nature of the presentation the film is episodic. This gives the feel of things that just happen instead of part of an overall story and again that does reflect the subject matter so it has to be said that the film works in that regard. This is something that people interested in Indy films will enjoy. Just keep an open mind and look at it as a work representative of an artist learning his craft and finding his voice.