Off Jackson Avenue

Like a less didactic version of Crash, John-Luke Montias’s multiculti, multithreaded drama forces a handful of disparate characters to converge for no purpose other than narrative closure. Set in a New York City populated entirely by ethnic stereotypes instead of people, the film creates a United Nations of vice: A Chinese mobster hires a Japanese hit man (with mommy issues) to kill an Albanian pimp who enslaves women from Mexico, Russia, etc. Impressively shooting in 16mm, Montias’s obvious talent as a filmmaker is sadly overshadowed by his uninspired, cliché-heavy screenplay. Unless you’re a Queens-on-film completist, stay away.