Zebrahead

Stars: Michael Rapaport, DeShonne Castle, N'Bushe Wright, Ray Sharkey (Cop and a Half). Racial conflict in a Detroit high school is the subject of filmmaker Anthony Drazan's outstanding teen drama Zebrahead, a genuine sleeper which was "discovered" by Oliver Stone's production company Ixtlan. Michael Rapaport stars as Zack (the metaphorical "zebrahead"), a white student who listens to black music, mimics black speech, has a black best friend named Dee (DeShonne Castle), yet is more or less comfortable with who he is. Enter Nikki (N'Bushe Wright), Dee's cousin. Tentatively, Zack and Nikki begin dating. Before long, the interracial couple is taking it from both sides: Zack's friends tease him about dating a black girl, while Nikki's friends bug her about the white boy who tries to act black. Into this already volatile mix walks Nut, a black gang member who thinks Nikki belongs with her own kind, preferably himself. Zebrahead is an exceptionally well-written and naturally acted adolescent drama that successfully avoids stereotypes and shorthand to deliver a rich and unflinchingly honest portrait of race relations in an inner city school. And the poetic finale, which cuts back and forth between scenes of love and hate, offers an artistically thought-provoking and dramatically solid ending to one of the year's best films. Audience: Older adolescents and those looking for small but great films.