*** (Three stars)
This amateurish documentary follows Daniel, an adolescent from a black community in the South Bronx, on his journey to the white-bread banality of Rhode Island. With two brothers in jail and an ex–drug dealer for a mother, Daniel attempts to redeem his family’s history through his own success. He finishes Taft High School, where the graduation rate is an alarming 40 percent, and further defies the odds by making it into an Ivy League college. At Brown University, he struggles, as his privileged white classmates and elevated coursework both irk and alienate him. Through the duration of the film, Daniel continually reassesses his own hopes and beliefs about education, race, family and his roots. While the crude Handycam style and directionless Q&As make this film feel like a work-in-progress, Daniel is so charming and humorous, and his insights on the American educational system so poignant, you almost forget that the picture is shaking the whole time.—Jackie Oberman, junior designer
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]