Image | 2009 | 99 mins. | R
Working with a limited budget and without the benefit of big studio backing, first time director and co-writer (with Maria Topete), Cruz Angeles has crafted one of the best snapshots yet of New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. This is not a story about the largely overwhelming political issues, but rather the people in the city left to deal with the personal losses in the tragedies wake; people forced to cope with collective post traumatic stress as jets fly overhead and the smoke and dust from the twin towers hangs in the air.
Amidst all the obvious tragedy, Don’t Let Me Drown is the story of young love that blossoms despite long odds. Lalo (E.J. Bonilla) is a teenager trying to come to terms with the events of September 11th, 2001, watching as his father (Ricardo Chavira), suffers through a job cleaning up ground zero, returning home nightly with escalating medical complications. A month after 9/11, Lalo meets Stefanie (Gleendilys Inoa), a young woman who lost her sister in the World Trade Center. Initially, the two don’t hit it off. Not knowing Stephanie lost her sister in the towers, Lalo makes an insensitive remark. Stefanie’s cousin (Dennis Kellum) hangs with Lalo after school, though, and the two eventually meet again and find they like each other.
Lalo’s dad, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was a janitor at the WTC, but he now works in the toxic dust to clean up at Ground Zero. He comes home each night with mounting medical issues–coughing up black debris—while Lalo’s mom worries about the family finances.
Stefanie’s family is Dominican. Her mom struggles to hold the family together. While her dad, completely crushed, rages at everyone and everything over the loss of his beloved daughter.
Even though both families seem overtaken by their own forms of grief, when they learn of Lalo and Stephanie’s relationship, a torrent of bigotry is unleashed. What, Lalo’s mom demands, is he doing with a thick-lipped black girl? Why, Stefanie’s chauvinist dad screams, is she dishonoring her dead sister by acting like a whore?
In an effort to regain some peace in her family, Stephanie tries to break off the relationship. After a few days of tension, Stefanie realizes that waking away from the relationship might not be as easy as she’d thought. In a poignant and comic scene, she reaches out to Lalo by having her cousin call him to determine his true feelings for her as she listens in.
While Don’t Let Me Drown moves at a steady clip, the director is wise enough to take the time to explore his characters and their personalities. We learn about the family dynamics and are made aware of the tough environments they are all living in. Stefanie’s father is little more than a tyrant. But, alone at night, away from everyone, he listens to the cell phone messages he never erased from his dead daughter. It doesn’t excuse his behavior, but you do empathize with him.
Bonilla (an Emmy nominee), is the more experienced of the two young leads, and plays his part with a solid understanding of his character and the world he lives in. Inoa, in her debut, is more instinctual but the talent is clearly there. She effectively wades through a river of conflicting emotions to give us a portrait of a heartbroken young woman yearning to do the right thing.
The anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation here maintains the dramatic feel. Interiors are warm and drably decorated, reflecting a working-class environment. Colors are separated and useful, best during the outdoor sequences, where the bigness of city life is allowed screen time. Skintones are natural and dramatically sound, while black levels have some issues in dimly lit locations, clouding visual information.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix is extremely modest in design, holding to the intimate exchanges between the characters. Varied accents are in play, but the track keeps everything crisp. Soundtrack selections provide some low-end activity, but it’s minimal. Atmospherics bring dimension to the mix, with apartment interiors and urban commotion evocative and healthy.
English SDH and Spanish subtitles are included.
A Theatrical Trailer is included.
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