Goldie

Heralds the arrival of both a distinctive new filmmaking voice and a leading lady with charisma to burn.

[Slick Woods] has got this really striking presence, which is a lot of what drives this film and how compelling it is.

Throughout, de Jong both romanticizes the unique vigor of New York City (especially the Bronx), and seeps the viewer into its harsh realities as everything grows more impossible for Goldie by the minute.

"Goldie" is about how in the most dire of situations that click is ever more alluring, and ever more elusive.

Woods, remarkably comfortable in her first film role, gives Goldie a steel spine and a feisty resourcefulness, her moments of vulnerability rare, but essential.

Woods detonates an explosion of raging emotions.

It's a chase movie with a twist: Instead of trying to escape from the police or criminals (which is the usual story in 'urban' movies), the protagonist is trying to keep her family together by trying to escape from Child Protective Services.

I think I get it now, this ambivalence I feel about the film. I adore a 'black girl story' and a lead like Woods' Goldie is a joy to see. Yet this is a film about disappointment and sagging dreams;

With another director, this might be the stuff of shallow melodrama, but Sam de Jong keeps the retro flourishes coming, along with the vibrant humor.

Scrappy and appealing -- if rarely outright dazzling -- but what truly sets the film apart is Slick Woods' performance.