Review: "Off Jackson Avenue"

The latest in this seemingly never ending parade of films is Off Jackson Avenue, a micro-budgeted indie feature by director John-Luke Montias. Shot in Super 16 over a period of 20 days, the film follows three very different stories on a fateful collision course in and around New York's Jackson avenue.
One is a Mexican immigrant named Olivia (Jessica Pimentel), who is brought to America with the promise of working as a waitress. When she arrives, however, she is instead forced into being a prostitute under the employ of a dangerous pimp Albanian pimp (Stivi Paskoski). Jealous of the Albanian's success, a rival Chinese mobster hires a sensitive Japanese hitman (Jun Suenaga), who is haunted by his recently deceased mother, to kill him off. Apart from all this, a low-rent car thief (John-Luke Montias) decides to go on one last spree so he can make enough money to buy his own shop and go legitimate.

This is no great film, most of its elements are almost instantly fogettable (although I found Judith Hawking's performance as the villainous brothel matron to be terrifying in its cheerful menace), but it is readibly apparent that with better resources, Montias has the ability to direct a solid and entertaining film.

I'll admit, Off Jackson Avenue held my interest as I watched it, but I found that it faded from my memory very quickly, and as such it is a film that can only be recommended with great reservation. There are quite a few individual elements to like here, but instead of seeming low budget, it often feels cheap. It is easy to appreciate the promise that it demonstrates, but I look more forward to what Montias does next than to revisiting Jackson Avenue.
GRADE - ★★ (out of four)
OFF JACKSON AVENUE; Directed by John-Luke Montias; Stars Jessica Pimente, Stivi Paskoski, Jun Suenaga, John-Luke Montias, Gene Ruffini, Judith Hawking; Not Rated; Opens today, 7/17, for an exclusive one week engagement at The Quad in NYC.
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