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Cast: Christine Evans, Zach Harmon, Derrick Denicola, Carolina Hoyos, Vanessa Villalovos, Daniel Galo, Cathy Baron, Jorge Alvaredo, Misty Madden, Olivia Holt
After fleeing a chaotic home life, troubled teenager Amber ends up on the streets of Los Angeles, where she falls in with a group of young performers and a has-been blues artist who teach her the importance of accepting others for who they are. But along the way, she shows them something, too: that everyone deserves a shot at a second chance.
What Black & Blue has going for it lies within the script, this is a passionate story of pain, anger, making choices and making your own way in life. Amber felt all of these emotions and more as she makes the decision to flee her home and get away from her meth-addicted mother and father who is never around to even care. You really feel for this this young girl as she sets out on her own frightened of the unknown and living on the streets while she decides what her next move will be. When Amber stumbles upon an old run-down music store and it's owner Billy who is an aging blues man who has regrets of his own, the two find out things about themselves through each other while each tries to heal their wounds. The cast of the film do a great job at keeping their characters real and believable and Canadian singer-songwriter, Christine Evans makes her acting debut as Amber. I was pretty impressed with Christine here, she does a good job playing this teenage girl with a lot of emotions running through her mind. The film evokes a lot of emotions, it is sad, inspirational, heart felt and even happy. Its about taking chances and moving on while attempting to lose that old luggage you been carrying with you and just starting over. The film itself starts out a little slow but as it moves along and you get to meet the different characters that cross paths with Amber the story takes you in and you begin to take an invested interest in this young girl. If you like a good drama that comes with lessons to be learned and an inspirational message then I suggest picking Black & Blue up today. I was moved by the actor's performances and by the troublesome yet hopeful story and was left thinking about it long after it was over. Just another example of how good Independent cinema can be.
Released by Monarch Home Video
**** Out Of *****