A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

New York's mean streets have become a little too familiar in a cinematic sense. From Clinton to Crooklyn, every 'hood seems to have had its own treatise, which makes the success of Dito Montiel's absorbing rough guide to the Astoria district in the 1980s all the more surprising. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a loosely fictionalized adaptation of Montiel's memoirs, which were published to critical acclaim Stateside. While many of the names have remained, first-time writer/director Montiel has juggled his personal history to good dramatic effect.

The film opens with the adult Dito (portrayed by Downey Jr) begrudgingly returning home to see his dying father (Palminteri) for the first time in 15 years. The story of the teenage Dito (LaBeouf) and the unlikely "saints" is told in extended flashbacks, and there's a real vibrancy to the initial scenes of chaotic petty criminality. Antonio (Tatum) is the troubled leader of the pack, which becomes involved in an increasingly destructive feud with a rival gang. Meanwhile, Dito becomes fast friends with an immigrant Scot, Mike (Sweet Sixteen's Compston), and the pair talk about escaping New York, to the disbelief of his father and friends.

So far, so uninspiring? Not quite. Montiel keeps up a cracking pace, the camera struggling to keep up with the motor-mouth characters. As tensions grow at home and life in the street descends into violence, the film begins to frequently switch back to the present, Dito slowly beginning to reconcile past events and current predicaments. Saints can be measured against many films of this ilk, but it's more Raising Victor Vargas than Mean Streets stylistically, with its faux DIY aesthetic. In narrative terms, the shift between past and present isn't always smooth, segueing awkwardly at inopportune moments.

Even given these minor criticisms, the terrific ensemble cast makes Saints enjoyable and enthralling. The veterans are on top form, while Montiel has unearthed a future star in Tatum. Previously seen in dreadful teen flicks, he's a revelation as the brooding Antonio. Producer Trudie Styler has worked the festival circuit tirelessly with this low budget gem, bringing Montiel the recognition this impressive debut deserves. [Parker Langley]