I haven't been affected by a film like this for some time. It's a gritty looking film made in 1977 in Watts, LA. It gives a really compelling account of every day life for a depressed black man living in some poverty. These days he would be labelled as depressed but the film goes much deeper than that.
It looks at his environment. living hand to mouth trying to make ends meet. Being drawn into criminality by friends but resisting. Being desired by his wife but to sad to respond and all the time he has his job. As a killer of sheep. The symbolism of his work in the slaughterhouse killing the defenceless animals cut with the kids from the ghetto leading directionless lies is a little heavy. But I like that. I don't want to work to understand my films.
The best compliment I can give it is it is it carries the feeling of a Mike Leigh film. We come in, we watch the characters for a while and then we leave. But you can feel the life of the characters going on after the final credits. One sad note is that despite it being a great film the two leads have really done little of note since. Which is a real shame because they are both marvellous actors. Anyway it's a film that deserves to be seen.
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