Rosario Dawson Movie:

Editorial Review:
A film adaptation of Dito Montiel's memoir of the same name, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a compelling, thoughtful movie based on Montiel's childhood growing up in 1980s Queens. A writer and director who understands his limitations, Montiel wisely left the acting to the pros. Shia LaBeouf (Holes) plays him during his adolescence, while Robert Downey Jr. (Good Night, and Good Luck, Wonder Boys) portrays the grown-up Dito. Never mind that there is absolutely no physical resemblance between the two actors; LaBeouf and Downey are so convincing in their roles it doesn't matter. Switching effortlessly from present day (where Dito is a successful author) to the past (where he is a tough little kid trying to figure out if there is life beyond New York), A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints tackles Dito's complicated relationship with his parents (Chazz Palminteri and Dianne Wiest), as well as the friends he left behind. Eric Roberts is magnificent in a small role as one of Dito's tough, childhood buddies. His powerful performance makes viewers remember there was a time when Roberts was better known for his acting skills than for being Julia's big brother. Montiel--a first-time filmmaker--won the Director's Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival for his autobiographical movie. Raw, gritty, and honest, Saints) makes a strong impact and leaves the viewer curious as to how the rest of Montiel's life will work out. --Jae-Ha Kim

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Reviews:
Reconstructing Harry... I mean Dito
2009-12-07 - I'm often impressed by how intricately 'New York back in the day' is recollected in films, and this one is no exception. Some really memorable and very authentic feeling scenes here.

What leaves a really nasty taste in my mouth, however, is how the writer/director/narrator uses the film to seemingly try to write himself back into the good graces of those he left behind and is now telling stories about. I'm pretty sure the old maxim of 'write what you know,' when applied narratively, only works for hindsight.

It's great if friends and family take you back after selling their stories to the tabloids or whatever, and sweet to try to lament your own shortcomings to make those you care about look better, but, at the end of the day, if you're going to write 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,' it probably shouldn't be *you* that gets recognized and/or martyred.

A view from the bottom of the barrel
2009-09-30 - I purchase and watch a great many movies. I watch movies for entertainment, for information or strictly to watch good acting or script. I like Robert Downey Jr.'s skills, as well as Rosario Dawson. This film featured their names but did not give them much time. Instead I was forced to view life from the gutter with a dialog that was at best third rate.

Sometimes I take a chance with an unknown movie, buying it strctly by the actor's name and the star rating of reviewers. In this movie both the false brandishment of Downey's part and the effort to promote it with multiple 4 & 5 star reviews are totally misleading. If I want to be a part of this kind of dialog I can drive several miles from my apartment to the nearby slums and listen to crack heads talking more intelligently.

I find it very discouraging that producers and directors can not deal with better scripts to turn into a movie. I watched the first 10 minutes, then skipped through the rest seeing nothing worth my time. I find the 4 & 5 star reviews deceptive and shallow. I certainly hope that Amazon has enough honesty to put this review out front to warn Robert Downey Jr. fans that this is really bad film.

R. Daniels
Miami, FL

a powerful coming-of-age story
2009-08-20 - A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is a powerful film that may turn off some people because of some violent and $exual content. However, if you look beyond that (and I admit I was wondering just how many times they used "the `f' word" in this movie) you'll find a brilliant story that's very poignant, true to life and emotionally raw because of its honesty about people and their relationships with each other. The cinematography is excellent and the choreography shows good judgment. The musical score enhances the movie, too. The acting is extremely convincing and the casting is great.

When the movie begins, we quickly meet young Dito Montiel (Shia LaBeouf) who's growing up with his buddies and some girlfriends on the pretty mean streets of Astoria, Queens (NY City) during the 1980s. Dito's friends include the ultra-macho Antonio (Channing Tatum) and Antonio's younger brother Guiseppe (Adam Scarimbolo), Nerf (Peter Anthony Tambakis), Mike O'Shea (Martin Compston), his girlfriend Laurie (Melonie Diaz) and more. Dito's parents are brilliantly portrayed by Dianne Wiest and Chazz Palminteri. As the plot develops, we see Dito and his buddies leading a rather frustrating life during the course of one extremely hot and humid summer; they are young and looking for time alone with girls and some angry confrontations with other guys, including one who goes by the name of "Reaper" (Michael Rivera). When Dito gets into a fight with "Reaper" because he wrote graffiti; "Reaper" scrawls more graffiti--even some on Dito's house--that he's coming "to get" Dito and kill him. Antonio is ready to defend Dito even though they themselves have their own ups and downs; and this ultimately leads to quite an explosive scene.

In addition, Dito's parents don't meet his needs as a young teenager who doesn't really know yet what he wants from life but is old enough to know that whatever he wants certainly isn't in Astoria, Queens. His father is furious that Dito is considering leaving home with his buddy Mike to form a band in California; and Dito's mother tries her best to keep things under control even though her struggle isn't very successful.

The DVD comes with an optional running commentary by director Dito Montiel; a "making-of" featurette and more.

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints leaves me with a very powerful impression; it makes a bold statement about the harsh realities that happen so often in life. Some may say that Dito Montiel's relationships with his friends and his family were unusual; but I think there are many, many people out there who have similar relationships, struggles, fears and occasionally some happy times. I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants a good look at what life is really like on the streets of a mighty callous neighborhood; this is a terrific coming-of-age story. Of course, fans of the actors in this movie will not be disappointed.

The Romanticizing of Mindless Vicious Behavior
2009-08-12 - This filmmaker doesn't seem to know the definition of saint.

It doesn't much matter whether the main character eventually escaped. The rest of the movie is a romanticization of the kind of behavior that too many people already romanticize, because we all know that there are people out there who look up to these characters and want to me just like them.

Flirting with sociopathology is becoming epidemic in "cool" culture. This movie is a world no one in his right mind would want to inhabit. So the main character managed to escape it! So what! I would have been more impressed if he had become enlightened enough to transcended it, and then had tried to change it for the better.

There are precious few movies being made these days with any redeeming social value. If you want to see a movie about saints, watch "A Home of Our Own", "Gandhi", "The Marva Collins Story", or the "Miracle Worker."

Hellen Keller was a true saint, because she transcended her terrible affliction and went on to write some of the most inspirational prose ever written. Did she sit around and whine about her circumstances and blame her neighborhood for her behavior? No! She was a hundred times the saint that any of the sorry characters in this movie were.

Filmmakers need to stop wallowing in the dark side of human nature and start making movies that celebrate transcending it.


A Guide to Recognizing True Talent
2009-05-14 - The only complaint I have with this film is that it's too short. The ending came so abruptly I was not ready to leave these characters behind. Thanks to brilliant acting I had become totally invested in them and left to wonder whatever happened to them. The film tells the story of Dito Montiel an author turned filmmaker. It traces his violent childhood in Queens to his self imposed exile in California and finally his return home after fifteen years to tend to his ill father who never forgave him for leaving. Shia LeBeouf plays Dito as a teen and Robert Downey Jr. plays the grown up Dito. I'm not a fan of LeBeouf but his acting here is amazing. I haven't seen many of his films but I would say it's his greatest performance if there is such a thing. Dito lives with his mother (Dianne Wiest) and father Monty (Chazz Palminteri). He roams the streets with his friend Antonio (the brilliant Channing Tatum) and other characters with names like Nerf. Antonio is a hothead who is always getting into fights and vandalizing stuff. His home life is no picnic since his father beats him severely. Monty is the only person who takes an interest in him, more so than his own son. Laurie (the gorgeous Melonie Diaz) is the neighborhood girl who Dito has a crush on. Tiring of the violence and drugs that surround him Dito dreams of running off to California and starting a band with a Scottish classmate. This doesn't bode well with his friends or family. When he runs afoul of some Puerto Ricans and they beat him with bats his mind is made up. In the tragic aftermath his father suffers a severe heart attack, Antonio gets revenge on the Puerto Ricans that lands some in the hospital and others in jail, and Laurie remains in Queens and has a child while waiting for Dito to return. Dito comes home after fifteen years to take his father to the hospital but his father, like everyone else, has never forgiven him for abandoning them. The film is very raw in many ways. The behavior of Dito's friends is appalling full of sex, violence, and strong language. They aren't a likable bunch but they aren't supposed to be. What makes the film so raw and painful are the scenes between Dito and Antonio or Dito and his father. Both as child and adult the emotion is there. As mentioned LeBeouf is brilliant and Palminteri is reliably superb. The biggest revelation is Tatum. After appearing in crap like 'She's The Man' and 'Step Up' he shows a real talent and his performance is the film's highlight. (I can't wait to see his re teaming with Montiel in the film 'Fighting'.) As an adult Eric Roberts plays Antonio and even though the scene is very short and comes right at the end it's still devastating. Rosario Dawson plays the adult Laurie and she is quite raw in her limited scenes with Downey. Downey isn't in the film as much as LeBeouf but his performance is very effective. His confrontation with his father is gut wrenching. The film is great and thankfully the DVD has a lot of good extras including a making of and commentary in which Montiel elaborates on what wasn't in the movie. I love it.