On its face, I would give this film 7 stars because it has gripping characters and story telling.
If it had just been a film about 3 children growing up in a lower middle class complex in Queens, it would be effective in showing the turmoils of their lives in 1962. The acting is great, the cinematography and directing are effective, and the characters are very engaging.
Where this film failed, and the reason it lost 3 stars in my estimation, is in that it exploits the tragedy of the Kitty Genovese murder for no purpose other than to attract viewers. The attack is barely addressed at all, and there are huge holes in the story once "it" begins. Now, there's nothing wrong with making film based on, or inspired by, true events. However, this film does nothing for the story or what truly happened on that day to merit its use of those events as a way to draw an audience.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from what happened that night, and if this film addressed those issues, it would be a legitimate tribute to Ms. Genovese and would at least teach the audience about the bystander effect. Instead, this film does not teach anything as most of the characters, except one, are completely unaware that anything was happening (for different reasons). Shame on whomever used this tragedy as a marketing ploy.
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