STORY AVE - Mark Reviews Movies

Story Ave, Kino Lorber

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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 28, 2023

Two lost and grieving people, an artistically inclined teenager and a widowed public transit worker, meet by chance and under potentially dangerous circumstances in Story Ave. Co-writer/director Aristotle Torres' debut feature involves a series of difficult and troubling subjects, ranging from gentrification, to gang violence, to the destructive nature of guilt. Its heart, though, is a hopeful one, in spite of and, mostly, because the film sees through the various problems at hand to find the shared humanity of two characters who would seem to have nothing in common at a glance.

The teenager is Kadir (Asante Blackk), currently struggling through high school and finding an output for his artistic creativity by way of graffiti—including the tagging various pieces of property with the symbol of a local gang. He dreams of becoming a member of that group, run by "Skemes" (Melvin Gregg), the older brother of Kadir's best friend Moe (Alex R. Hibbert), and making a big deal of how street art is a form of rebellion against the gentrification of the local Bronx neighborhood where they live. It's a way to take back at least a little bit of power and control in a place that no longer seems to care about the original, mostly Black population of the area.

To put it mildly, Kadir has a lot going on at this moment in his life. He's dealing with school, which isn't enough for him to guide his artistic ambition or to get into an art college where he might hone his talents. He is trying to convince Skemes to initiate him into the gang, so that he can make more art, make it have some kind of purpose, and give him a sense of belonging. After all, he doesn't feel at home in his own home, living with a single mother (played by Cassandra Freeman) who has worked his whole life and now doesn't seem to want him around anymore.

Much of this stems from the recent death of Kadir's younger brother, who had cerebral palsy and died, drowned in the bathtub, when his older brother was at home and tending to him. Kadir blames himself, because he stopped paying attention for just enough time for his brother to die under his watch and in that way. He knows his mother blames him, too, in some way and even if she doesn't really mean it.

Grief is raw, after all, and can bring those immediate, dark feelings to the surface. We feel alone in it, even—such as in the case of a dead boy who was both a brother and a son—when people aren't alone in that grief, and act accordingly.

As a result, Kadir runs away from home, tries to live on his own, and finds himself looking to stay in Skemes apartment. The gang leader refuses for the moment, because Kadir isn't an official part of the group. For him to be initiated, the teen has prove his dedication. That means robbing someone and returning something of value—as well as proof—to Skemes, who gives Kadir his pistol to help him.

That's how Kadir ends up on the eponymous public train platform, finds a man on his own, and aims a gun at the stranger, demanding his wallet. The target is Luis (Luis Guzmán), who's just heading home after a shift working for the MTA, but that doesn't last long. Luis sees something in this kid—beyond the gun, beyond the demands and threats, beyond anything he might assume about Kadir. He offers the teen his wallet, his coat, and some cash, if Kadir joins Luis for a meal at a local restaurant.

From here, the film becomes about this unlikely relationship, as the two talk over Luis' beloved Cuban sandwich at the diner and quickly realize that they have more in common than they might have guessed. Like Kadir, Luis is dealing with grief, following the death of his wife to cancer, and in the teenager's art, Luis sees a lot of promise—as well as a reminder of someone else from his own life. Kadir never knew his father, and Luis was a father once, although he hasn't spoken to his own son in a long time.

All of those other story threads—mostly the stuff with the gang, which becomes complicated when a rival group starts moving in on territory—continue here, but the core of the film, which remains optimistic even as the central relationship itself becomes complicated by a past that Luis wants to forget, belongs to the bond between Kadir and Luis. They talk about what has happened to them and the people they love, about Kadir's ambitions and how he can work to try to make them a reality, about Luis' outlook on life and his genuine hopes for this young man, and about the pain that they can't or won't communicate to anyone else. It's a first step for Kadir, and despite how much Luis seems to have it together, we soon learn it's yet another and still difficult—to the point that he doesn't deal with it in a healthy way—step for the man, too.

It's grounded by smart, considered writing by Torres and Bonsu Thompson, as well as effortlessly naturalistic performances from Blackk, giving this character an arc from uncertainty to some emotional foundation, and Guzmán, who inhabits the sense of a life lived, learned from, and, at times, regretted. There's a richness to the characters of Story Ave that makes its lessons, not only believable, but also sincerely felt.

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