Review of Gardens of the Night (2008) by Marvin H — 09 Aug 2008

MIFF '08: I liked the characters, and it had some pretty strong themes about family, but I left the cinema feeling unsatisfied. The first half kept me interested because it was ambiguous as to what was going to happen to the children, but then it skipped ahead to when they were older, and I was thinking, "Well, how did they escape? What happened to Alex and Frank?" So basically, the film makers omitted what would have been the most interesting part of the story.

It was also a little predictable that the traumatic childhood of Leslie and Donnie led to a life of prostitution. And because so much time was spent showing their street life, the ending felt rushed - a shame because it was only then that I began to understand what this film was actually about.

Sigh.