"Laws of Gravity" is a hyper-realistic docudrama and an excellent clinic on the loser mentality of the mean streets of Brooklyn. Focusing on the tribal order of several white urban hoodlums, this flick is about as real as it gets with actors...many of whom are on their first outing. A good watch for those into realism and crime films.
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brettmeisner13 March 2005If you like "Laws of Gravity" you will definitely like "A year in the life of crime (1989)" from HBO. It followed a group of real losers around Jersey City for a year. A must see One of the best documentaries I've ever seen.
I would love to see a follow up to the original HBO version of this movie. It's been about 16 years and I would love to see if any of the original guys from the documentary are alive.
HBO needs to re-release "A year in the life of crime" or do the follow up. I'm sure this has been mentioned a million times in relation to this film so I will end my post here...
Brett -
Some nice performances from the cast, as well as an interesting tale of small-time crooks living in Brooklyn...and *gasp* IT ISN'T PREACHY! Hallelujah. The only major complaint I have is that in improvising the dialogue, there's too many instances wherein four or more characters will be conversing with one another but doing so in such a chaotic fashion that you can tell that barely anyone is listening to another character's rant. The attempt to create "hyper-realistic" dialogue actually results in noise that at times becomes incredibly unbelievable, despite what others may perceive to be the way individuals of that particular mindset communicate. 6/10.
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amiker20 January 2001The first time I saw this movie was about six years ago on either Showtime or Cinemax can't remember which. I was blown away I missed the first few minutes and thought at first that I was watching a documentary. The hyper camera work, the dialog, the more than real life acting, and very believable situations. No Hollywood style glizt and glamour here. No big name actors, no multi-Jillion dollar budgets. Just basic film making in it's rarest form; raw, unrefined in other words REAL. Real characters, no complicated plots no surprise endings no Hollywood endings no explosions no car chases and crashes. This film is a real character study and you know how it's going to end, the only way it can. (Hey Independent Film Channel why haven't you put this one air yet)?
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krosszone30 December 2010To MEAN STREETS. Nick Gomez used Scorcese's film as a blueprint for LAWS OF GRAVITY, obviously out of love for that movie, but done with respect. The opening shot of Peter Green is exactly the same as Harvey Keitel: awakening suddenly from an otherwise empty bed in his apartment, daytime-- gets a cigarette, lights it, stares. Jonny "No Bones" (Adam Trese) is the loose cannon character like Robert DeNiro's Johnny Boy, whose excesses have to be managed by his best friend. In LAWS, there's a confrontation between Jonny and one of Frankie's gun buying customers, where Jonny calls him "Mucka-ferguson".... similar to De Niro's Johnny Boy calling a guy in the bar a "mook". Despite these similarities, LAWS doesn't feel like a copycat flick, in the way Tarantino-clone films started falling from the sky after RESERVOIR DOGS. I think Nick Gomez utilized MEAN STREETS as a reference point for the form, as it was his first film, but filled in the content with details from his own era and neighborhood. Some of the dialogue is so natural and realistic, it had to be improv'd. Cassavettes is another obvious influence, as his characters are known for improv, for talking over each others' lines, everybody yelling at once. ASPIRING FILMMAKERS TAKE NOTE: With his debut feature, Nick Gomez demonstrates how to pay tribute to the masters of cinema without committing a soulless, unoriginal rip-off.
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bsinc25 December 2002This was like watching five-year old boys arguing over toys and little latino girls sticking their noses in everybody's business in the worst possible time and then acting all surprised when a boy lost it and smacked them. You probably had the experience of going to a nice restaurant and sitting next to some parents with the most annoying out-of-control brats you could imagine. Those kids were screaming uncontrollably and running all around the restaurant, maybe even bumping into you and not even apologizing, playing with their food and crying when somebody told them to do something they didn't want to. But the worst part was that their parents didn't do a goddamn thing to stop their children's "fun"; either because they thought it was completely normal and natural behavior or because they thought that children should be allowed to do whatever they desired because they just don't know better. You can decide which is worst! But the point I'm trying to make is that people in this movie are those spoiled rotten kids. I truly couldn't believe their conversations. I thought those conversations (arguments between George's or Jerry's parents) on "Seinfeld" were disturbing but you won't know annoying and uneducated people until you've seen this movie. Their debates (which in one way or another way always end with men shouting over one another and the latino woman screaming) were so unimaginably pathetically annoying that I truly couldn't believe that people actually communicated this way. And that latino woman! AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! No wonder she got slapped around on so many occasions. It's a wonder she made it through high school(even in America). But then again, she probably didn't even go to high school. None of the characters probably didn't. The only person who made some sense was Jimmy, but he had the hot-tempered friend who was full of sh#t. If real life people talk to each other like this then it's no wonder that the homicide rate is as high as it is. But I think that's exactly what this movie is trying to tell the viewer. People get killed for no apparent reason, the people who shot them just didn't like them. It's that simple and it's that easy. I wouldn't last an hour with these people; either they'd get into a fight with me over the dumbest and most trivial thing imaginable and I'd get popped, or I'd loose it because they were such idiots and I'd kill them.
Because of the movies authenticity there is no climax or downfall here; it's just a straight line, just another day to struggle for survival. But I still hope that the uneducated fools that were displayed here don't exist in real life. Well I know they do, but I hope there aren't many of them. 8/10 -
Boyo-215 November 2001You can't tell where the film crew is or their equipment, because the whole thing is so close to reality that you can't even call this a real movie. Its more than a movie, its like you're there. You're hanging out with these egregious people, on the street, in their apartments, in the bars they hang out in..its really amazing.
Not one of the actors makes one false move and you can't say that about very many movies. But like I said, they didn't appear to even BE actors in the first place. I wonder if there was a lot of improv between the actors, everything they said was so real.
You can't say a lot really happens, either, but that's exactly like real life, too!
From what I just read, this was made for the amount of money Julia Roberts makes for filming one or two scenes. Whoever said life was fair? -
MorpheusOne18 April 2022The acting, the directing, the story, the cinematography, all of that academic stuff was quite good. The worst thing about the film, the only thing that I didn't like is how the movie ended. Very literally, this thing ended somewhere between about two-thirds & three-quarters of the way into film. There was no ending. The movie just stops...right at the cusp of a pivotal scene and, then, with no point or explanation for doing so, credits roll.
It's absurd. Maybe I saw an early cut of the film that has this senseless ending, considering the reality that this is...otherwise...an excellent film. Which is strange, at least for me, too, since I typically don't like movies where the characters are stupid. And there are some very stupid characters in this film; a lot of very bad decisions were made throughout this story. I've seen a few people say that this story is very 'Shakespearean'.
It's true! -
MajRusKitt21 November 2008An absolutely flawless, pristine cinematic experience. A piece of true life, modern film doesn't get any better than this. I will not speak of the actors, because there is no acting. You live days in the lives of living, breathing people. If you have lived in a large city, the realism will so shock and beguile you that you will be left breathless. You smell the streets, you feel the silent despair, you know in your heart that something terrible, something tragic lurks around the corner for every character. A masterful, incredible experience that I am shocked so few have had the chance to enjoy. When all of us wanted to be filmmakers, this is what we wanted to achieve.
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susansweb6 September 2001One of the MANY movies that mistakes profanity for powerful dialogue. Like horror movies that use gore to supplant suspense, these movies use profanity as a crutch. This was Nick Gomez's first film and it shows, from the "artistic", read too shaky, hand-held camera-work to the script which I imagine was two pages long, the rest of the film being improvised (I have a hard time believing anyone can write that kind of dialogue). The film starred Peter Greene (doomed to be forever known as Zed from "Pulp Fiction")and a cast of future Soprano actors. As for the story, it involves some old friends that are no longer friends coming back to the neighborhood, how original. See "Mean Streets" if you want a slice of life from the seedy section of town.
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CelluloidWeaver6 August 2002This is raw gutsy independent filmmaking at its very very best. You start to watch this film and you feel like you're about to partake in something legendary. You watch the actors - and you feel some spooky eerie kind of vibe because they are all so REAL. PETER GREEN! This guy is riveting. He's so damn good - I can almost understand why his career seems to have been doomed after " Clean Shaven." This was his debut and how could he ever be better? The photography in this film is compelling to watch! There isn't a minute you doubt and every minute you are in the middle. Why this movie is not available on DVD - or video - is a total mystery. Who distributes movies? I have a theory: distributors are angry little pretentious people who have finally crawled there way to a place of power. They can now - somehow - make huge decisions and take vengeance on a newfound platform, thus undoing countless years of failed attempts at being cool. Funny thing is, the jokes on US - because they are the ones who decide not only what we see - but where, when and how we see it!!! AMAZING. Truly amazing. This movie blows so many films out of the water. If I ever make a film - I'll know exactly what to do if I want it on DVD - make sure it's mediocre, slow and boring. And then spend some time kissing ass to get it sold.
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carldenton14 January 2021I thought it had a mean streets vibe, I was wrong. A complete and utter mess, shouting constantly and all morons, with a few idiots thrown in for good measure. How people have given this film anymore than 2 is beyond me. It is absolute garbage, 100%. An hour and 40 minutes of my life I won't get back. If you actually had friends like the characters in this film, or should I say knew people like it. Which I do, you'd have nothing to do with them, even a dog would walk away. Don't waste your time, trust me.
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With so many movies copy-catting winning formulas,it is a shame, but no surprise, that "Laws of Gravity" is a little-seen, hardly ever-recalled movie. It got lost in the Chasing Amy/She's the One/Do the Right Thing indie over-load. And I'm not knocking those movies. But please give due credit to the "godfather" of indies,which combined a gutsy and raw, yet still highly intelligent script with near-flawless acting and, at that time, never-before-seen editing and cinematography. Can you tell I'm a fan? I too, like many other viewers, "stumbled" upon this movie while channel-surfing late at night. This will not be a review, being that I don't want to give away any key moments of the film. Rather, this is a plea to all movie lovers to beg, threaten, and/or intimidate the powers-that-be to release this film on video and DVD for, to my extreme shock, this film is nowhere to be found. (Save for the afore-mentioned "stumble".) And if you find it there, TAPE IT! This is definitely one for the personal library!
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bigbrownindia13 June 2005Although its debt to Mean Streets is obvious, this update is brilliant in its own right. The cast is perfect and Gomez's script unfolds like a Shakespearean tragedy. When they find this movie in 200 years, they'll think it was a documentary or some home movies, it's that real. The haters are the same people who would've dissed Mean Streets and can be safely ignored.
Although the performances are excellent, the plot is not as thin as many have suggested. Far from it. Pay attention and you'll see the conflicts build to a logical, explosive finale. The cinema verite style draws you in almost immediately and withstands comparisons to Godard. Bravo. -
irina_tanasescu5 January 2003I plan to be a filmmaker - I have much to say. But I'm just beginning my film research, including trying to find my favorite films. In this film, the director, Nick Gomez, truly accomplished to give his film an unbelievable sense of everyday reality - it made me feel 'at home' with the story and its characters, despite the fact that the story was a depiction of the story of the lives of those who are usually cast aside by society, especially nowadays. When I compose a song or any work of art I find it difficult to look at my art from a objective, or an outside, point of view. This film had the same effect, i could not help but be absorbed by it. All at once, I could not resist trying to discover exactly what cinematic techniques were involved to achieve this effect. I found one aspect that added to the film's 'realistic' look , a sound element. In a more 'conventional' film characters speak in turns, with some edited overlapping. But in this film, characters spoke all at once, which made the natural selective hearing process of the human ear even more inviting. Anyway, this is among one of the most creative films I've seen.
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Barnaby-211 March 1999I enjoyed this movie. A lot. It was intense, and there was essentially nothing predictable about it. The camera work gave you that hyper-realistic effect of being there. The acting was memorable, and for anyone who's known people like this (or been somebody like this), it was dead on. Highly worthwhile.
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jsmith9619 November 2003It's not a Means Streets rip-off. It's a decent, low budget movie with some fine acting, and some realistic dialogue. These characters are not brain surgeons, they are rough, inarticulate people who live a hard life. Any predictability comes from the fact that only the inevitable can happen to people such as these. The film captures the feel of a Brooklyn neighborhood well. What appears to be Williamsburg before it became trendy. This movie made me feel I was watching what happens when a bunch of good, no-frills actors spend time together producing a very realistic and gritty ensemble piece. Check it out for yourselves.
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It's a rare movie that makes you forget it's a movie. This film pulls it off on a budget of $38,000 (can that be true?) Nick Gomez should be up for best director/writer, and entire cast deserves kudos, especially Adam Trese and Paul Schulze, who give us the best on-the-edge-of- violence performances since Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. The story revolves around two buddies in Brooklyn who are involved in small-time crime to avoid work. One is a big-brother type to the other who is irresponsible and prone to slap his girl around and thereby alienate everyone around him. Into their life comes a long-lost friend on the run with a nice collection of hot pistols to sell. Watch for it on Showtime.
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stp48835 April 2022Back when "Independent" movies were exploding in the early 90s this little gem came out. Full disclosure, I'm a born, raised & still here native NYC boy & I knew these kinds of people. People in other reviews wonder about where these characters are from? They're from everywhere & this was the real deal back in early 90s. This is before Williamsburg & Greenpoint areas of Bklyn exploded & became gentrified 'beautiful' neighborhoods. Nick Gomez created this movie that kinda spans just a few days, that are probably like many other days in these characters' lives. Edie Falco, Paul Schultze, Peter Greene all before their big roles in the Sopranos, Nurse Jackie & Pulp Fiction for P. Greene ("Bring out the Gimp...Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead.)
Back in the early 90s, Falco & Schultze were working as waiters & bartender at my friend's bar (for real, though not for much longer obviously). Indie movie world was bursting and Nick Gomez was the hot young new director after this movie. I found it totally by chance on some cable system in NJ & showed it to my 20 yr old son. Not sure he appreciated & liked it as much as I did, but I loved the Scorsese/Cassavettes style of exploring the low gritty lives of struggling characters banging their heads against the 'mean streets' of their environment. There's not a load of action in this movie but as other reviewers noted, it feels like your a fly on the wall in these characters' lives for a few days. And for someone who's from this neighborhood, everything feels real, legit & authentic, warts & all. I totally recommend it this to anyone curious about the Indie movie world of early 90s & gritty pre-gentrified Bklyn. Just be warned it's not an action movie but it's xclnt, in my humble opinion...Enjoy. -
madisonwisconsinite9 September 2013For starters, this film really makes you feel like you are right there on the streets of Brooklyn. It is a period piece, as you see the twin towers of the WTC still clearly sticking up on the horizon at far left at one of the frequent hangouts for the main characters. However, this film is a classic example of what is very badly wrong with America today: our government is so overly concerned with censoring out bad words in everyday speech, that more than 10% of the dialog is BLEEPED out, and you cannot follow what the BLEEP is happening in the BLEEPING movie so you have to go and get a different BLEEPING copy from the BLEEPING library to get an idea of what the BLEEP was being talked about in the movie. So well constructed, you would think people followed these characters around with HD cameras neatly concealed on them, capturing all of the daily lives of a collection of low level criminal miscreants in 1990s New York. But don't bother trying to watch it through some pay broadcasting, if you hear even one BLEEP early on, you'll only get angry that you can't tell what the BLEEP the characters are angry about. I doubt that it would be sold to you with no censorship in the USA, so either rent it on DVD, or better get it free from your local library, and enjoy hearing what real Americans talk like in that place and time and mindset.
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leapso12 September 2000I've heard this compared to Scorsese's "Mean Streets", but the crime and situations depicted are much more low-key than that film. This is really unique. A couple of incredibly minor Brooklyn thieves, one's wife, the other's girlfriend, and their local bottom-feeder milieu, futzing around interacting with the locals and just squeaking by. That's about the whole film, give or take a subplot about a stash of guns that our 'heroes' come into and try to sell. But it's not about plot so much, it's a character study, and the performances are incredible, so the characters stick. The two leads are both great, although Adam Trese has the gift of a part as the young psychotic/Jerry Lewis type. Edie Falco (Tony Soprano's wife in "The Sopranos") has an unusually great role as written, in the sense that they don't write too many parts as varied and interesting as this for women to play, particularly in crime-related movies. But what she does with it is pretty astonishing. It's a great performance. That director has one unusual eye for picturesque composition of unlikely subject material too. "Laws of Gravity" is an uncommonly good movie. Its dialogue-ear for humour in banal minutiae has a smell of the Tarantinos, but this pre-dated "Reservoir Dogs".
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RatedVforVinny18 December 2019A picture that pulls you right into the action and then rips you apart. Totally uncompromising in its harsh depiction of an urban, Brooklyn life. The characters are so real, yet difficult to define or even pin down. None of them are in a job or remotely employable, though on the other hand make pretty lightweight (inept) criminals. I have never seen a more realistic or groundbreaking film period and it's really a simple case of 'life imitating art', or should that be the other way around!? Takes that nasty, gritty feel to a whole new level. With superstar Peter Greene.
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lordwhorfin2 February 2000One of the things that bugs me about indie film-making is that the wrong people make it to step two. Nick Gomez surely should have been able to do more work than "Illtown" and "New Jersey Drive" after finishing this well-crafted, if choppy, urban tale. I liked "New Jersey Drive" a lot, so I guess Nick's getting his recognition through "The Sopranos" at the moment. And why is Mr. Green still only playing psychos and tiny little bit parts, apart from his brilliant work in "Clean Shaven"? At least Adam Trese went on to "Palookaville"!
Ok, so that's more of a rant than a review, and I'll cut to the chase:
If you liked "Bottle Rocket", "Palookaville", or "A Bronx Tale", see this film.
It's an old story, but I'll tell it again:
Guys from bad neighborhoods, against whom the deck is pretty well stacked, get some better-than-usual goods to sell. And sell them they must, under less than ideal circumstances, leading to all sorts of fun and frolic, in a very non-comedic sense. Greene, Trese, Falco, and Schulze stand out. Saul Stein is quite creepy as the face of the "new mob".
This sort of film appeals to me more in its American genre than the current British versions of this story ("London Kills Me", "Lock, Stock", "Twin Town", and "Trainspotting") as the Scots/Welsh/Home Counties vision of petty crime has a heavily injected fantasy slant absent in four American flix cited in my discussion.
Also, these petty-street-crime films are probably (with the exception of John Sayles) one of the few windows into American poverty available in US film right now. The scene in "Laws of Gravity" between minor criminal Frankie and Greene's screen spouse Denise (Edie Falco) on the nature of life and work is brilliant.
lordwhorfin says, go ye forth and rent. -
coverboy_28 June 2004I'm not going to sit here and tell you this long drawn out synopsis about this masterpiece of a film. But, I'm not the one to leave people in the dark, so it'll be a brief synopsis.
Johnny, the main character gets canned in the slammer over some petty charge. His best friend , and the wiser, sells guns that belong to a hot-head named Frankie, this pays Johnny's bail. Frankie, Johnny's best friend (forgot character's name), and Johnny, were once this entrusting ghettoized circle of friends, now Frankie's peeved at the both of them for running guns and blowing the profits for Johnny's well-being. This begins a volatile pattern of street bravado, and someone will definitely find themselves in a unfortunate disposition.
Brilliant acting, you can't even call it acting, call it, hanging on the block with your crew. These guys are so natural and effortless. The realism and pace of this film is why cinema buffs find a reason to get up mornings.