Thanks for checking out our Toe to Toe review.
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Emily Abt
Staring: Louisa Krause, Sonequa Martin, Hina Abdullah
Released:Feb 26th 2010
THE GENERAL IDEA
At a politically correct prep school in Washington DC two girls, one black one white go toe to toe. Jesse is a privileged but troubled white girl whose slutty tendencies pull her towards self-destructive behaviour. Tosha is a fiercely determined black girl from the poorest part of DC with aspirations of rising above it all and going to Princeston on scholarship. The two quickly become friends until their common interest in the hot Lebanese DJ heats things up.
THE GOOD
I was very impressed with the acting and the characters here. Jesse is irrationally self destructive and seems to base her decisions mostly on what might get her mostly absent mother’s attention. She plays the seductress/partygirl very well but we see layers of her pain quite often too. Hard thing for Louisa Krause to balance.
It is the character interaction that carries this film. There isn’t some grand lacrosse championship game full of action, and there is no elaborate and drawn out sex scene. Its all about character interaction. And it holds brilliantly.
THE BAD
Tosha is beautifully played by Sonequa Martin, but she is a tragic stereotype in films. Black girl growing up poor in the bad part of town, her family is a mess of problems all making sacrifices so she can go to a fancy prep school and get into Princeton. She’s moving on up… to the east side. She’ll finally get a piece of the pie.
But Tosh is such a powerful and strong character and is so well played that you want to forgive that. A little.
OVERALL
I never grew tired of the character interaction and the plot is really only played out in the end. This feels “real” and not fabricated. Its passionate and you feel for the characters. There is no badguy but there is a lot of conflict. Not an easy task, but one this film does a pretty good job with.
I give Toe to Toe a 7 out of 10
Toe to Toe saw a limited release last week and will get a wider release on March 12th.
