Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 13, 1994 TAG: 9405130010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's a personal story, told with more warmth than many may expect, about a Brooklyn family in the mid-1970s. The script was written by Spike Lee and his siblings Joie Susannah Lee and Cinque Lee, so there must be an autobiographical element to the film. That's particularly strong in the opening montage, a brilliant turn in which Lee introduces the block of brownstones where most of the film takes place.
It's a boisterous, rowdy place where neighbors argue on their stoops, kids play games in the street and transistor radios provide a smooth, mostly Motown soundtrack. The Carmichael family lives right in the middle of things.
Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) is a teacher. Her husband, Woody (Delroy Lindo), is a jazz composer and performer who's having trouble - financially and\ philosophically - adjusting to changing musical tastes. To put it mildly, their kids Troy (Zelda Harris), Clinton (Carlton Williams), Wendell (Sharif Rashid), Nate (Chris Knowings) and Joseph (TseMach Washington) are a handful. They're bright, scrappy and tireless in their efforts to get their way, no matter what Mom says.
Initially, the film seems to be an ensemble piece with the seven family members receiving roughly equal attention. But as it progresses, Troy moves to the center, and the focus shifts to the conflicts between her parents and her own coming of age. Some of those scenes crackle with domestic electricity and the kind of intense conflicts that boil up within any close-knit family, particularly when economic pressure is added to the mix.
But, just when the various threads of the story should be coming together, the film veers off on a tangent that arrives unannounced from nowhere. It never gets back on course. In hindsight, it's easy enough to see why the Lees decided to take such an unconventional approach. But viewers who are expecting a resolution of the questions that have been raised won't be satisfied.
They may also be confused and irritated by one long sequence in the second half of the film. There, for reasons that make sense within the story, Lee squeezes the image on the screen, distorting the characters into tall, thin figures. It will probably give projectionists fits, and though it is an interesting innovation, it goes on too long and hurts the film more than it helps.
Those flaws notwithstanding, the acting is first-rate. The three main characters fully believable and sympathetic. Alfre Woodard's performance is Oscar caliber, and so is Delroy Lindo's. His role is the more thoughtful and complex. Though the problems they face are the stuff of everyday life, there's not a single stereotyped moment between them. Young Zelda Harris appears to be a natural talent. Spike Lee has not been known for his work with child actors, but he got a remarkable performance from her.
On balance, the good far outweighs the bad in "Crooklyn." But with only a few small changes, it could have been a real crowd-pleaser. As it is, Lee's fans will again be wowed by his technical virtuosity while the larger audience wonders why he made his film so difficult to enjoy.
Crooklyn *** A Universal release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 132 min. Rated PG-13 for domestic violence, strong language.
by CNB