It was just another blip on a big-city newscast -- a 14-year-old boy shot following a basketball-game scuffle -- but this boy's death gave life to his family. The killing of Terrell inspired his younger sister Nicole to live for him, to get good grades and someday make it out of the ghetto, which was Terrell's dream.
Both tender and edgy, "Legacy", scheduled to air this year on HBO, is certain to win critical praise and honors. And it would be great fuel for Bill Bradley's presidential campaign: Nicole's selection of a private, Catholic school over the Chicago public school system and the vigorous boost that education gave her would make an argument for Bradley's pro-voucher stance in his ongoing debate with fellow Democratic candidate Al Gore on how to solve problems facing inner-city education.
"Legacy" takes place in the war zone of the former Henry Horner Homes, one of Chicago's most blighted public housing projects. It begins with the telecast announcing Terrell's murder and follows Nicole as she resolves to honor her brother's straight-A scholastic record by doing the best she can at school and generally bettering herself.
For Nicole, it's a solitary road: She gets no encouragement and must essentially overcome the welfare-dependent attitude of her troubled mother and the heartbreak of her drug-addicted aunt. Her only role model is her feisty grandmother, who encourages Nicole to reject everything about the projects, including the mindset of failure that permeates.
In this comprehensive look at Nicole's horrible world -- in the shadows of the Sears Tower and trendy Michigan Avenue -- we see a well-meaning but ineffective social-services bureaucracy, a maze of "Catch-22" contradictions that never quite fit together well enough to provide a track to betterment. Believing that the government cannot help her or anyone and that her mother's example is wrong, Nicole steadfastly takes it upon herself to raise her world.
She gains admission to a Catholic school, dutifully traveling the long distance on the city bus through the most dangerous neighborhoods. Particularly unique is how well the Catholic Church comes off in this film, including the positive aspects of strict schooling. These days, the Church usually endures only punk-shots from filmmakers.
After school, Nicole works part-time in an art gallery and attends to her other siblings. In every respect, Nicole is a normal kid, not a driven nerd self-absorbed in her quest for success. She participates in neighborhood activities -- the wholesome ones -- and ignores the easy temptations of the projects.
While "Legacy" is a conscientious, insightful portrait of Nicole's miraculous, steadfast drive to succeed, there are noticeable gaps in her story. For example, we see very little interaction with peers, nor do we see many of the daily battles she must have endured to attain her goals. It seems unlikely that she didn't encounter hostile peer pressure or those who would burst her bubble. In essence, we see her outer actions but learn little of her inner, personal struggles and, surely, periods of despair.
Nitpicking aside, one can only surmise that moments like those might not have occurred when the camera was around to stifle them. That said, this documentation of a young girl's stunning triumph is rigorous and magical, a triumph of the will in all of the best senses.
Professional-looking and polished, this "Legacy" lives.
LEGACY
HBO Films
Screenwriter-director-producer:Tod Lending
Directors of photography:Randell Blakeley, Sid Lubitsch, Slawomir Grunberg, Theresa Sherman
Additional cinematography:Max Miller, Keith Walker
Editor:Daniel Alpert
Music:Sheldon Mirowitz
Color/stereo
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Both tender and edgy, "Legacy", scheduled to air this year on HBO, is certain to win critical praise and honors. And it would be great fuel for Bill Bradley's presidential campaign: Nicole's selection of a private, Catholic school over the Chicago public school system and the vigorous boost that education gave her would make an argument for Bradley's pro-voucher stance in his ongoing debate with fellow Democratic candidate Al Gore on how to solve problems facing inner-city education.
"Legacy" takes place in the war zone of the former Henry Horner Homes, one of Chicago's most blighted public housing projects. It begins with the telecast announcing Terrell's murder and follows Nicole as she resolves to honor her brother's straight-A scholastic record by doing the best she can at school and generally bettering herself.
For Nicole, it's a solitary road: She gets no encouragement and must essentially overcome the welfare-dependent attitude of her troubled mother and the heartbreak of her drug-addicted aunt. Her only role model is her feisty grandmother, who encourages Nicole to reject everything about the projects, including the mindset of failure that permeates.
In this comprehensive look at Nicole's horrible world -- in the shadows of the Sears Tower and trendy Michigan Avenue -- we see a well-meaning but ineffective social-services bureaucracy, a maze of "Catch-22" contradictions that never quite fit together well enough to provide a track to betterment. Believing that the government cannot help her or anyone and that her mother's example is wrong, Nicole steadfastly takes it upon herself to raise her world.
She gains admission to a Catholic school, dutifully traveling the long distance on the city bus through the most dangerous neighborhoods. Particularly unique is how well the Catholic Church comes off in this film, including the positive aspects of strict schooling. These days, the Church usually endures only punk-shots from filmmakers.
After school, Nicole works part-time in an art gallery and attends to her other siblings. In every respect, Nicole is a normal kid, not a driven nerd self-absorbed in her quest for success. She participates in neighborhood activities -- the wholesome ones -- and ignores the easy temptations of the projects.
While "Legacy" is a conscientious, insightful portrait of Nicole's miraculous, steadfast drive to succeed, there are noticeable gaps in her story. For example, we see very little interaction with peers, nor do we see many of the daily battles she must have endured to attain her goals. It seems unlikely that she didn't encounter hostile peer pressure or those who would burst her bubble. In essence, we see her outer actions but learn little of her inner, personal struggles and, surely, periods of despair.
Nitpicking aside, one can only surmise that moments like those might not have occurred when the camera was around to stifle them. That said, this documentation of a young girl's stunning triumph is rigorous and magical, a triumph of the will in all of the best senses.
Professional-looking and polished, this "Legacy" lives.
LEGACY
HBO Films
Screenwriter-director-producer:Tod Lending
Directors of photography:Randell Blakeley, Sid Lubitsch, Slawomir Grunberg, Theresa Sherman
Additional cinematography:Max Miller, Keith Walker
Editor:Daniel Alpert
Music:Sheldon Mirowitz
Color/stereo
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/14/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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