Kill the Poor

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****½

I have long despaired of finding an American movie as politically incisive and coherent as, say, the French film Human Resources. Now, along comes Kill The Poor, which seems almost a small miracle because it's a political film that does not have a political agenda. Unbelievable? See it and decide for yourself. It addresses gentrification circa the 1980s in Manhattan's Alphabet City from a host of viewpoints: socialist, poor, middle class, artist, businessman, gay, immigrant - all just trying to make things work, mostly for their own comfort, of course, but not without some thought and feeling for "the other guy." But how to serve the "other guy"? That's the question the movie implicitly asks, finding no easy answer. While I have had little contact with Alphabet City since I lived there back in the early 60s, I did live in NYC's Spanish Harlem during the 80s, where I observed and was part of the attempt at "gentrification without destroying the neighborhood." This was mostly unsuccessful, probably for reasons similar to those found in this thoughtful, bracing and immensely entertaining movie.

Filled with dialog sharp, real and often quite funny (Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, penned it, from a novel by Joel Rose), some very slick editing (Malcolm Jamieson), Alan Taylor's clear and subtle direction, and an ensemble cast in which everyone shines, the film scores its points so quickly and cleverly that you have little time to question. Just keeping abreast of things will tax you plenty. Certain critics, most of whom were dismissive, clearly had trouble keeping up: The New York Times' critic, for instance, stated that the lead character, his wife and child move into the apartment building when, in fact, the child is born there (this is a plot point given major weight and meaning). Newsday pointed out the lack of narrative, when there's a ton of it - but fractured so you must piece it together as you proceed, which is invigorating for some of us, but difficult for others. The story takes off from a moment of arson then jumps back and forth in time, during which it offers suspects aplenty (including one memorably hilarious young one). Full of stories - some true, some apocryphal - which are important to the lives of the characters and viewers alike, this movie sees things, from real estate to people, as they are.

Writer Handler gave us not only the popular Snicket stories but the awful Rick (maybe director Curtiss Clayton should take the lion's share of blame for that one) and director Taylor is responsible for some noteworthy cable television, as well as Palookaville and the very underrated The Emperor's New Clothes. The cast includes David Krumholtz (Serenity, Slums of Beverly Hills), Clara Bellar, Zak Orth, Paul Calderon (a standout performance), Heather Burns, and, in his final role - a wonderful one - Cliff Gorman. With Kill the Poor this group may have given us a near-classic - pertinent to past, present and future - whose time, unfortunately, has not quite come. Its purpose, as I understand it, is not to tell us that one idea/philosophy will work while another one won't, but to make us aware of how difficult and tricky are the negotiations toward some measure of equality and justice. If I am over-rating this one, so be it. I have seen little else of late from an independent filmmaker as important, let alone as compelling, as Kill the Poor. Miss it at your peril.