AKA

An unforgettable film.

So never mind the Xmas schlock -- go treat yourself at once to this sensationally entertaining soul food.

It's quite difficult to find a character we can remotely identity with. This is frustrating because the film is so profoundly well written, acted and filmed.

Alternately fascinating and distracting.

Subtle performances and the "you are there" immediacy conferred by digital video give Roy's film the feel of a series of stolen moments.

Always watchable yet ultimately self-defeating in terms of its tonal/aesthetic choices.

Divided into a triptych of images sprawled across a Cinemascope frame, AKA rarely uses the extra screens for information that couldn't be conveyed well enough in one.