Downtown: A Street Tale (2004)

27% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(459 ratings)

Life on the streets is never easy, and when a disparate group of homeless teens attempt to mold a hopeful future from nothing more than cardboard and food dredged out of the local dumpster a street-smart counselor does her best to ensure that their efforts aren't made in vain. Genevieve Bujold, Joey… More Life on the streets is never easy, and when a disparate group of homeless teens attempt to mold a hopeful future from nothing more than cardboard and food dredged out of the local dumpster a street-smart counselor does her best to ensure that their efforts aren't made in vain. Genevieve Bujold, Joey Dedio, Burt Young, and Domenica Scorsese star in a gritty urban drama set in a world where every move you make could be your last. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Rafal Zielinski
Written By: Joey Dedio
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Apr 20, 2007 Limited
Studio: Slowhand Cinema Releasing

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
As maudlin and overly familiar as it is earnest.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Earnest intentions can't begin to save this clumsy cautionary tale about teens and twentysomethings trying to survive on the mean streets of Manhattan.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
A hackneyed melodrama partly redeemed by a cast convinced that it's performing Tennessee Williams.
Peter Debruge, Miami Herald
Amounts to little more than a downbeat soap opera.
Evan Henerson, Los Angeles Daily News
[Director] Zielinski's attempts at serving up grunge and grittiness largely fall flat. Scenes of sex and drug use are typically accompanied by a swooning and intrusive soundtrack.
Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly
Clichéd though it may be, this movie was clearly made with love.
John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
We're asked to invest in too many characters; on the other hand, aside from Bujold, there's no one you want or need to know more about.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
Many actors have written far worse debut scripts, and except for one shot...it all comes off grungy and sad and cold-as-concrete unromanticized.
Erin Clements, Time Out New York
As Downtown plods toward its Christmas Eve-set climax, the film's tendency to OD on melodrama detracts from its grittier moments.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Veteran actress Bujold's powerful, unaffected performance is the anchor that keeps the film's episodic subplots from spinning off into chaos.