Aging Out

An earnest if conventional documentary focusing on the difficulties faced by young people who've grown too old to remain in the juvenile foster-care system, Roger Weisberg's Aging Out shuffles the stories of three subjects—rebellious David, hopeful Risa, and anxious Daniella—as they migrate from a structured and restrictive (though also somewhat secure) way of life to one marked by independence and self-reliance. The relationships between David and Risa and their former foster parents—whom they gravitate toward whenever problems arise—are touching, and it's genuinely uplifting to watch Daniella and her young Cambodian boyfriend struggle to build a real life for themselves and their baby in the face of long odds. While the film is a sober, non-judgmental affair, viewers can't help but feel a genuine concern for others caught up in similar circumstances and sadness at the parental neglect and agency failure that puts children into such a precarious state. Technically, Aging Out isn't at all innovative (the bland music score is the sort of generic stuff that accompanies many such films), but it's the subject that matters, and the film ends with a satisfyingly realistic combination of modest triumph and heartbreaking tragedy. DVD extras include two similarly-themed short films by Weisberg, one about a young man in Chicago and the other about a girl in the Bronx. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)