Layin' Low

This is great. Spot on, it plays like a fly on the wall documentary. A totally committed and natural cast. Script's great. And a refreshing change from the traditional Hollywood view of New York. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone; especially if you fancy something a little different from the glossy blockbuster.

If you grew up in the city, like I did, you were always amazed at how New York was portrayed in most Hollywood films. It was either a place of incredible glamour and blase decadence or abject violence and degradation. Much of the city, especially neighborhoods in the outer boroughs, have a real smalltown feel which falls short of both extremes. Layin' Low is a movie about that New York. Set in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn in (I presume the director was shooting for) the early '80's, it's a tale of two underachieving twentysomethings negotiating malaise and two-bit hustlers.

Jerry (Piven) is an unemployed would-be writer living at his folks house. This character is particularly well-written; he's not a "suffering artist" or an aesthete, just a guy who enjoys reading so much he'd like to take a whack at it. His best friend Christy is a ne'er-do-well slacker whose dreams are as small-time as he is - playing the ponies in search of the Trifecta, pigeon ranching and moving to Cleveland are schemes which occupy much of his time.

Christy and Jerry get mixed up with the clientele and the incompetent associates of a local cocaine retailer. Jerry has to leave home, and holes up in Christy's cousin Angie's apartment. Meanwhile Christy takes an interest in Jerry's parents' new boarder, Manuela. By the time all is sorted out, both friends' lives undergo drastic change.

The ensemble cast does a great job, the direction is low-key and unassuming and the overall result is charming and to this New Yorker, refreshing.

Director Danny Leiner is my cousin by marriage. Okay, disclaimers out of the way, I saw this movie and liked it. I was at a by-invitation showing in a theater and have no idea where you can get this one on tape or disk, but if you like clever stories with witty dialog about characters who get into problems, then you'll like this one. Danny is a talented guy and his work is already going good places. This is not, despite what it says on IMDB, his directorial debut, but it's probably going to be regarded as such. Accordingly, it's going to be a piece with historical value. You might want to be able to say you saw it before everyone else.

Piven is a good choice for the low-key, cynical lead. He plays his part with understatement that makes his snide remarks all the more biting. The pace is good and the visuals have a slightly gritty, New Yorky feel that gives the movie valuable context. My only complaints are that we see the same sets a bit too often, and that indoor shots lack some needed depth-of-field. I've never asked Danny about it, but I have to guess both were due to low budget (the latter problem being something you solve with really, really big lights).

If you liked Kevin Smith's "Clerks," you'll like this one, too. It's not as rough or vulgar, but it will give you the same feeling of watching losers who don't know they are losers, and who you are hoping will be winners by the end of the story.