This film about young, lower-class women in the rough part of Jersey City pulls no punches. Oz is a tough gal, and she’s staked out her corner where she deals crack and lives large. Marisol, a crack addict, is a single mother whose habit leaves her child with an elderly relative much of the time. Finally, there’s Suzette, the sheltered daughter of a single mom. Her first real crush throws her in with a bad crowd and has devastating repercussions for her family.
The stories of these three girls intertwine, crossing at common meeting places like the local juvenile hall and the park where the crackheads hang out. Filmmakers Lori Silverbush and Michael Skolnik spent months working and talking with troubled girls in New Jersey and wove their true stories into the screenplay. The daily fight that girls like these have just to get by is stunning, and whether or not they succeed is as much dependent on their family and coincidence as it is on their own grit.
Shows 3/3, 7:15 pm (San Jose Rep); 3/6, 9:15 pm (San Jose Rep); and 3/7, 5:15 pm (University Theater).