Rashaad Ernesto Green focuses much of the film on the least interesting character, played by Esai Morales.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sundance-review-time-director-wades-75699PARK CITY — (U.S. Dramatic Competition) In his feature debut, Gun Hill Road, writer-director Rashaad Ernesto Green displays compassion for his characters and an ability to create strong scenes to underscore his thematic concerns. But the story itself is too shopworn especially at Sundance where countless films have presented dysfunctional families where parents and offspring are at odds over the young people's unwillingness to yield to parental oversight of their lives.
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But when he comes to realize his beloved teenage son, Michael (newcomer Harmony Santana in the film's most complicated yet successful performance), is exploring life as a female, he flips out. His all too revealing bellow is: "What does this say about me?"
