Review of Lenny Cooke (2013) by Bryan D — 24 Oct 2013
The rise and immediate fall of promising young basketball star Lenny Cooke as he gears up for the 2001 NBA Draft but fails on the grounds of meritocracy. We meet him years later, as he inevitably reflects on his mistakes in letting himself miss the opportunity and waste his natural talent.
This film was screened as a special exchange between the Venice Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. It is a very gritty feel with a beautiful feel of urban decadence. The stock footage looks dirty and raw, making it seem more legitimate.
The Safdie brothers are very reminiscent of the other legendary brothers in documentary, the Meysels. In Lenny Cooke, in fact, they employ the same guerrilla tactics of direct cinema and let the characters speak for themselves and seduce the camera.
Ultimately, however, out of the natural comedy of the world which they film comes an honest tragedy of fate and Shakespearean remorse right up to epilogue, which is at once dramatic and poetic.
This review of Lenny Cooke (2013) was written by Bryan D on 24 Oct 2013.
Lenny Cooke has generally received positive reviews.
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