OT: our town Rating: (out of 5 stars) Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy Producer: Scott Hamilton Kennedy Director of Photography: Scott Hamilton Kennedy Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew

Read the interview with OT's Scott Hamilton Kennedy and Catherine Borek.

Review by: Warren Curry
8/10/03

Although it's enjoyed tremendous success on the festival circuit, Scott Hamilton Kennedy's documentary, OT: our town, is a box office challenged movie. For starters, the very word documentary doesn't exactly conjure up images of the masses flooding to the local cinema, and then consider the subject matter: a group of students at Compton, CA's Dominguez High School, under the tutelage of two very driven teachers, try to put on the school's first play in 20 years. While OT may sound about as appealing as taking a daily vitamin, it turns out to be much less stuffy and much more entertaining than it really has any business being.

The city of Compton was introduced to popular culture in the late 80s/early 90s, thanks mainly to the birth of gangsta-rap music and John Singleton's debut feature film, Boyz N the Hood. Most of us have a bevy of preconceptions about the city, and Kennedy's film isn't single-mindedly designed to deconstruct them, nor does he make any attempt to hammer the negatives home. The film presents to you a group of varied teenagers whose personalities and passions are imminently relatable.

English teacher Catherine Borek, with the assistance of her colleague Karen Greene, attempt to put on a theatrical production of Thornton Wilder's classic "Our Town." What makes this an especially daunting undertaking is the fact that Dominguez High does not have a drama department -- in fact, they don't even have a stage. With a non-existent budget, the 2 teachers and 24 students move forward with rehearsals for the play, which proceeds with both joy and hardship.

Kennedy's linear structure is given some extra dramatic juice by the frequent intertitles that reveal how much time is left prior to opening night. He also intercuts footage of the Hal Holbrook-starring television version of "Our Town" from 1977. The comparison between this traditional version of the play and the one that is being shaped by the Compton students is striking. In an effort to make Wilder's work, which is set in an all-white town in 1903 New Hampshire, more relevant to the realities of the students and their future audience, Borek and Greene encourage the actors to tinker with the play to satisfy that objective.

Kennedy's approach to the material is winning because it's so evenhanded. This film is the director's curious journey, and it never panders to our obvious sympathies for the subjects it is documenting. Catherine Borek, one can reasonably assume, did not grow up in an environment like Compton, and her noble pursuit is given the opportunity to speak for itself. But Kennedy's camera doesn't shy away from her moments of frustration, or the students' frustration with her.

In the film, the students are as much separated from their environment as they are framed by it. At one point, at night after a rehearsal, sounds of gunshots pierce the air, and the camera captures a nearby car that may be the source of the disturbance. There is some alarm amongst the students and teachers, but they deal with the situation in a hysteria-free, almost matter-of-fact manner. Kennedy, of course, spends time with the subjects away from the play. Some of the students, like those in high-school drama departments across the U.S., feel alienated from their peers. Others fit in perfectly but want to experience the exhilaration of acting. Most agree that more attention should be placed on the arts in a school that is most know for its powerful basketball team. (Budding Chicago Bulls' star Tyson Chandler, who at time of the filming was a Dominguez student, says a few words to the camera.)

Is there a "feel-good" strain to the film? Absolutely. The messages that come through loud and clear are that of the similarities which exist between people regardless of their surroundings and the importance of children's involvement in the arts. However, the process of Kennedy's documentary doesn't feel calculated to arrive at this conclusion. There's a huge difference between earning an emotional response from the viewer and manufacturing one, and the director's unobtrusive technique ensures that your connection to this movie is an honest one.

As evidenced by Kirby Dick's 2001 film, Chain Camera, and now OT: our town, the lives of Los Angeles-area high school students makes a great topic for feature documentaries. Scott Hamilton Kennedy's film is absolutely engaging -- a great surprise that is well worth the effort it may take to search out.

(A Film Movement release. Opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 15, 2003. Expands to more cities at later dates.)

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