Another drama from the most humanistic miniaturist working in indie film, Jim McKay's feature, "Everyday People," is -- as its title suggests -- rich in observations of ordinary folks like "Girls Town" and "Our Song." Despite developing in the same workshop as those films, this has an over-determined feel that cuts against the filmmaker's naturalistic grain. But its humor and generosity should yield a long life prior to HBO broadcast.

Another intimately scaled drama from perhaps the most humanistic miniaturist working in American independent film, Jim McKay’s first 35mm feature, “Everyday People,” is — as its title suggests — rich in the kind of bittersweet observations of ordinary folks that distinguished “Girls Town” and “Our Song.” Despite being developed through the same workshop process as those earlier films, this ensemble piece has a somewhat over-determined feel that cuts against the filmmaker’s trademark naturalistic grain. But its delicate humor and generosity of heart should yield a long festival life prior to HBO broadcast.

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Set in a Brooklyn diner and interweaving the personal stories of the local institution’s staff and customers, the contemporary drama explores complex themes regarding the interaction and communication between people of different backgrounds and makes poignant acknowledgment of the losses that come with the gentrification of urban neighborhoods. The screenplay was distilled by McKay from some 60 stories pertaining to race issues collected from real people in a project initiated by author and exec producer Nelson George and funded by HBO.

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Jewish-owned restaurant Raskin’s serves as a cohesive framework for those stories and an effective microcosm for the broader community. Principal conflict comes from the decision of owner Ira (Jordan Gelber) to sell to developers planning an upscale transformation of the four surrounding city blocks.

The film begins as long-serving maitre d’ Arthur (Stephen McKinley Henderson) announces to the staff Ira’s intention to close in three weeks. Like Arthur, many of them have no alternative employment prospects.

Providing a faux documentary-style glimpse into the various lives, McKay considers what the diner’s closing will mean to several characters. Among them are cashier Joleen (Bridget Barkan), a single mother; kitchen hand Samuel (Billoah Greene), who’s due to leave for college; waitress Erin (Sydnee Stewart), determined to break away from her upper-middle-class family and become a poet; and dishwasher Sol (Stephen Axelrod), a Jewish ex-con, ex-junkie and former doctor, angry about the turn his life has taken.

Other key figures include Ron (Ron Butler), the aggressive young black broker who is responsible for the redevelopment deal and convinced it represents positive progress for everyone; and Erin’s mother Betty (Iris Little-Thomas), whose own career roadblocks throw salt on the wound of her frustrated ambitions for her daughter. The least successfully integrated character is Akbar (Reg E. Cathey), a sidewalk philosopher whose ranting about black identity pushes the movie into didacticism.

Action unfolds over the course of a single emotional day as Ira wrestles internally with his decision while observing the humanity and dignity not only of his staff but of the Raskin’s regulars, who cross race, age and socioeconomic boundaries.

Given the occasional tendency for over-written dialogue and over-constructed scenes, some of the performances feel a little stiff and theatrical. But others — in particular Barkan and Greene –are effortlessly moving, rendered with penetrating subtlety and sensitivity. With some minor exceptions, McKay unifies the broad-ranging mosaic, deftly channeling his conclusion through a lazily flirtatious cocktail-hour fixture (Verna Hobson) who admonishes Ron by saying, “You can’t wash out all the color and keep the flavor.”

Shot by “Girls Town” lenser Russell Lee Fine in a crisp, composed style that brings clarity, texture and a strong sense of the community’s vitality, the film’s gentle, melancholy mood is echoed in the melodic score by composer Marc Anthony Thompson, who also appears as a musician.

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Everyday People

Movie; HBO, Sat., June 26, 9 p.m.

  • Production: An HBO Films presentation of an Alphaville, Urban Romances, C-Hundred Film Corp. production. Produced by Effie T. Brown, Paul Mezey. Executive producers, Nelson George, Caldecot Chubb, Sean Daniel, Jim McKay, Michael Stipe. Directed, written by Jim McKay.
  • Crew: Camera (color), Russell Lee Fine; editor, Alex Hall; music, Marc Anthony Thompson; music supervisor, Tracy McKnight; production designer, Craig Lathrop; costume designer, Sandra Hernandez; sound (Dolby Digital), Antonio L. Arroyo; assistant director, Adam Escott; casting, Beth Bowling, Kim Miscia. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (American Spectrum), Jan. 20, 2004. Running time: 81 MIN.
  • With: Ira - Jordan Gelber Joleen - Bridget Barkan Arthur - Stephen McKinley Henderson Erin - Sydnee Stewart Samuel - Billoah Greene Akbar - Reg E. Cathey Sol - Stephen Axelrod Ron - Ron Butler Betty - Iris Little-Thomas

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