Stark drama of family transition
David Lewis, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 19, 2011
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/18/DDQ11KN0K8.DTL (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/18/DDQ11KN0K8.DTL)
The story sounds like a recipe for melodramatic excess: A street-hardened, macho convict returns to his family in the Bronx, only to discover that his son has begun to transform into a young woman.
Yet in writer-director Rashaad Ernesto Green's assured hands, "Gun Hill Road" manages somehow to be gritty, delicate, in your face and nuanced at the same time.
It's a beautiful, compelling, sometimes harrowing family drama, with excellent performances across the board.