Girl's Town

Lili Taylor (I Shot Andy Warhol) shines again in this powerful raw portrait of four inner-city high school girls on the verge of graduation. Coming from varied ethnic backgrounds with wide differences in opportunities and achievements, the girls share an easygoing camaraderie which is shattered when one of them commits suicide. How the others react--in large part taking back their lives from abusive or controlling men--makes up the thematic backbone of this largely improvised collaboration. A double winner at the Sundance Film Festival, Girl's Town suffers from combining realistic, gut-punching dialogue, with plot developments that don't always quite ring true. Still, a strong film: these revived Ophelia's are taking charge. Recommended. (R. Pitman)