About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Dito Montiel's A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a compelling drama featuring a first-rate group of young actors mixed with big screen veterans. Raw and honest, Montiel does a fantastic job of making his very personal story accessible to outsiders (i.e. movie audiences).

Pros

• Every performance works; every actor is at the top of his or her game
• Tough, gritty and fresh
• Dito Montiel sets the bar high with his feature film directorial debut

Cons

• Leaves you wanting more - which isn't really a bad quality

Description

• Based on the memoir of Dito Montiel, the film's writer and director
• Starring Chazz Palminteri, Shia LaBeouf, Robert Downey Jr, and Channing Tatum
• Filmed in Astoria, Queens, New York City
• Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexuality, and drug use
• Theatrical Release Date: September 29, 2006 (Limited)

Guide Review - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Movie Review

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints begins with Dito (Downey Jr), a writer living in Los Angeles, forced to face his past when he's asked to come home to Astoria to help his mother (Wiest) take care of his ailing father (Palminteri). Dito hasn't seen his family since he escaped his old neighborhood 15 years prior, and only reluctantly agrees to return to see his estranged father knowing full well the reunion won't be an easy one for either party.

That's the set-up for the film and for flashbacks to Dito's misspent youth on the streets of Astoria, Queens.

As Dito travels around his old haunts, the memories of lost friends practically overwhelm him. Brought to life by a terrific group of actors - including Shia LaBeouf, Channing Tatum, Peter Tambakis, Adam Scarimbolo, and Melonie Diaz - Dito's teen years are portrayed as wild and violent, with many of his best friends never making it out of the neighborhood alive.

While all the performances are spot on, it's Channing Tatum (yes, the hottie from She's the Man and Step Up) who delivers a breakout, scene-stealing performance. Tatum's portrayal of the aggressive Antonio is gutsy and frightening.

A truthful coming-of-age story, the film practically screams for your attention and feels almost alive and ready to jump off the screen to confront the audience. Montiel's impressionistic style of filmmaking never cheats his viewers, an impressive accomplishment when you consider how much of his film is told through flashbacks and voice overs.