Sunshine State

Like City of Hope and the early scenes in Limbo, this is one of Sayles' multi-character social tapestries investigating a community in transition, striving to come to terms with its past and to sort out a future. This being a Florida beach resort, complete with a once segregated, once thriving black enclave, the real estate people have almost taken over (with a little help from local politicians), the wilderness is virtually extinct, and new histories have to be invented. Revolving around a couple of women - failed actress Bassett revisiting her mom after years away, motel proprietor Falco looking to escape the doomed family business - the film weaves together a typically vivid array of characters, relationships and stories over one difficult holiday weekend, its observations as politically astute, its dialogue as witty, and its performances as top-notch as we've come to expect from Sayles.