New Jersey Drive (Nick Gomez)

Rating: 2.5

LAWS OF GRAVITY, Nick Gomez's debut feature, was one of my favorite films 
of 1992; NEW JERSEY DRIVE shares that film's improvisational flair and 
striking camerawork, but lacks its nervous energy and, ironically, its 
narrative drive.  It's fascinating for a reel or two, but then becomes 
repetitive and grating.  Also, it features, in common with Charles 
Burnett's THE GLASS SHIELD, some of the most cartoonishly racist and 
corrupt police officers in movie history.  Anyone who's followed the 
Simpson trial knows that such cops exist, but they make for bad drama, 
just as the kindest and most selfless people you know would make lousy 
protagonists (there are exceptions, but these films ain't among 'em).  A 
worthy effort, from a gifted filmmaker, that doesn't quite satisfy.