A Guide To Recognising Your Saints (2006)
Recommended for mature audiences 15 years and over
This urban drama opens with the adult Dito (Robert Downey Jnr), now a successful writer, receiving a call from his mother (Dianne Wiest) to say that his father (Chazz Palminteri) is dying. Reluctantly, Dito returns to the life he abandoned years ago and must face up to his harrowing past. Told in flashback, we are thrust into the gritty, dirty borough of Astoria, Queens during the '70s. Young Dito (Shia LaBeouf) is a restless teen who spends most of his time hanging out with his friends, the "saints" referred to in the title. There's Dito's girl Laurie (Melonie Diaz); his oversized, abused and volatile best friend Antonio (Channing Tatum); Mike O'Shea (Martin Compston), a Scottish wannabe Sex Pistol; and finally the self-destructive mescaline fiend Giuseppe (Adam Scarimbolo). An affecting and emotionally complex tale tackling the loss of love, family and innocence, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is a poignant, heart breaking and inspirational work.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 98mins |
| Origin: | UNITED STATES |
| Aspect Ratio: |
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Member Reviews (22)
22 Member
Reviews
Lance
says
very much my type of movie and suprised i missed it as it is a 2006 title,anyway,entertained start to finish,very good storyline and great line up of actors. i give this a 9 outta 10
Rusty
says
So many movies start strong, and fade in the last Act. Not this one. The first half hour is confusing, irritating and at times impossible to understand: everyone gasbagging over the top of each other like nobody's business. But then it starts to make sense, and builds to a superb last Act. Strongly influenced by the gritty, densely scripted ensemble style of Altman and Cassavetes, this coming-of-age memoir (written and directed by the guy at the centre of the story) is rough around the edges, but totally convincing as a tale of life in a backblock crumbling borough of New York. But don't be misled by the title: there ain't no saints, and there ain't no miracles.
Danuta
says
At the begining of this film, I thought, Oh no! - It's once of those films that wants to be realistic and make a statement using continual swearing. However, it grew on me and I realised it was a fairly powerful movie depicting how it was for teenagers growing up in a tough neighbourhood in Queens in the 80's, and how people in general lived and coped. I'm glad that I persevered. I scored it low because filmically and structually it could have done with some technical improvement, and I think some actors were better than others, but In the end what makes the film, is the fact that it's based on a true story, and that's an eye opener and really sticks in the memory!
Lucy C.
says
I think this film is missing a script.
Alex F
says
The directror tries ver hard to channel Gus Van Sant's style and never really works. The story is good enough, the performances too, but I wasn't a fan of the style, specially the odd voice overs for dialogues coming from characters that I am seeing right now on screen. Why the voice over and not just let them do the dialogues on screen?
Natalie
says
This movie was interesting enough that i watched the whole movie but not very exciting
Jo A.
says
This is a small gem of a movie. It really drew me in and had a real emotional impact on me. The characters are just wonderful and very believable. I also enjoyed the eighties music and the slightly experimental shooting style.
Clare B.
says
Quirky and disturbing. Not for a time when you are feeling a bit low!
Andrew H.
says
Nothing like what I was expecting but it was a good dramatic movie with strong performances.
Kevin B.
says
This genre has been attempted many times. This movie is impressive, especially the young characters.
Belinda P.
says
It was rather confusing. No problems with the language, but often so many actors speaking at once it was difficult to hear what was being said. To be honest I was disappointed. It had its moments, but not enough of them.
Denise L.
says
Anna R.
says
It had the makings of a really good film, but with the flash backs and constant swearing wore the plot down.Wasn't a total waste of time but would not watch it twice.....
Vicki S.
says
tried and tried to like this but turned it off after an hour very disappointed
S F.
says
to be honest, i thought i was going to be bored stiff, thought it was going to be a 'slow one' but then as the movie plods along in flashback fashion the harsh often violent suburban reality began to offer much insight
Inze
says
When the movie first started I thought it was going to be a screaming match throughout without any real storyline. However I persisted and I'm glad I did. How oppressive to live under those conditions, particularly in your teens with a father that wouldn't listen. The message was clear that Dito's father was petrified of his son leaving, however his stifling demeanor exacerbated the problem. Antonio had no respect for anything, including adults - symptematic of his upbringing, expecting violence or issuing it at every turn. A real rollercoaster ride this one. Acting by Downey and Palminter and LaBeouf was excellent.
Brian M.
says
Another movie ruined by the language and the mostly incomprehensible dialogue. Whaddidtheysay??????
Joanne E.
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Piya A.
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David C.
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Adriana L.
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Barbara N.
says
If you can get past every second word being F..k, this movie has an intersting yet disturbing insight into young male attitudes.