WHERE GOD LEFT  HIS SHOES
Written & Directed by Salvatore Stabile
Produced by Richard Hutton, Michael Caldwell, Daniel Edelman & Stabile
Released by IFC Films
USA. 96 min Not Rated
With John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, David Castro & Samantha Rose 
 

A blend of art and social consciousness, Where God Left His Shoes is a heartfelt and timely vignette about poverty seen through the lens of one hapless family. With clarity of vision, writer/director Salvatore Stabile makes one of the most touching issue-oriented films this year, owing as much to the story as to the phenomenal cast, carried by the electric John Leguizamo.

Leguizamo steps into the skin of Frank Diaz, a professional boxer thrown out of the ring and evicted from his home. After several trying months at a homeless shelter with his wife and two children, Frank gets a chance on Christmas Eve to secure an apartment at a nearby housing project—but only if he can provide proof of stable employment. With his young son in tow, the fallen athlete and part-time construction hand (paid under the table, of course) sets off on a frantic search for a legit job, watching the clock as the city rapidly shuts down for the holiday.  

The pair’s cross-borough mission-impossible—full of turnstile-hopping and police chases—puts us face to face with a hyper-realistic New York, objectively presented from every angle with neither love nor resentment, even when resentment is justified. Like Frank and his loving family, most of the characters we meet are decent, if not kind, except for one callous little twerp played by Jerry Ferrara (Turtle from Entourage).  

Though they’re unambiguously victimized by the economy, the beautiful family presents an honest mix of shortcomings, preventing the film from overdosing on martyrdom and sentimentality. Stabile admirably manages to avoid manipulative tear jerking, even when we’re watching Frank’s hungry son (played with ease and maturity by David Castro) beg for money in the middle of Times Square.

But because Frank’s plight is so realistic and the film’s reflection of our economic problems so devastating and direct, we can’t help but be deeply touched. Though they’re shielded by their love for each other, the family is battered by their financial fate, with no gratifying narrative twist that bails them out just in the nick of time. And though we want more than anything to see them succeed, the painful absence of a happy ending leaves the audience with a raw feeling of obligation to those less fortunate. Where God Left his Shoes is a superb emotional experience that demands to be reckoned with inside and outside the theater. Yana Litovsky
December 12, 2008