Laws of Gravity Reviews

A gritty take on the day-to-day life of petty thugs on the mean streets of Brooklyn, LAWS OF GRAVITY captures this violent and volatile world without without being exploitative or sensationalist. Jimmy (Peter Greene) and his lifelong friend Jon (Adam Trese) are two neighborhood punks who spend their days stealing, fighting and hanging out. Jimmy, at least, is in a stable domestic relationship with Denise (Edie Falco), and is beginning to question his lot in life; Jon, a few years younger, runs on a very short fuse and is only one step ahead of the police, who have issued a summons for his arrest; this doesn't stop him from picking fights with virtually anyone who looks in the direction of his girlfriend Celia (Arabella Field). The endless cycle of stealing, brawling and drinking takes on new dimensions when another local, Frankie (Paul Schultze), returns home from Florida. A sociopath with boy-next-door looks, Frankie has brought with him a cache of stolen handguns which he convinces Jon and Jimmy to help him "move." The presence of the weapons only serves to escalate the tensions within the group, leading to an appropriately violent conclusion. LAWS OF GRAVITY's shoestring budget (reputedly only $38 thousand) forced some interesting choices on writer-director Nick Gomez. The use of a hand-held camera (masterfully employed by Jean De Segonzac), and frequent lack of master shots, gives the film a compelling cinema verite feel. This is complemented by the improvisational quality of the dialogue and the realistically drawn characters. Gomez's keen eye for casting is one of the film's strongest attributes, with an entire group of virtual unknowns turning in uniformly credible performances.