T and I went to another screening a few days ago, this time for a film called 96 Minutes. It was written and directed by WashU alum Aimee Lagos, and it was really good.
The story was inspired by real events to which Lagos was connected. While she was at WashU studying Social Thought and Analysis (yes, apparently that was a major), she worked tutoring city kids, some of whom were involved in the carjacking incident. The victims were WashU students. The Post-Dispatch briefs the actual events here; I found this article in a neurology journal online, and it appears to be by the father of one of the kids involved.
Without giving too much away, the film starts two pairs of kids, each in their own worlds. Carley and Lena are college students with promising futures, though they're both a little lacking in terms of direction and parental support. Dre and Kevin have lived a tough urban life, also with largely absent parents. Dre is days from his high school graduation and wants to leave his childhood behind him; his cousin Kevin will do anything he needs to in order to be accepted into the local gang. The film progresses non-linearly - in the present, the carjacking has already happened and you're on the edge of your seat waiting to see how things end; the flashback scenes march inevitably towards the carjacking itself.
The film stars Brittney Snow as Carley and Evan Ross as Dre; both are fantastic. David Oyelowo acts well as the only real adult character in the film, and the one who brings some hope to the whole depressing story.
Bottom line: a frustratingly well-told tale which manages to at least open a discussion about class and urban issues.
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