Susan Granger’s review of “Toe to Toe” (Strand Releasing)
Female friendship and empowerment are the themes of this provocative coming-of-age melodrama about two very different seniors who play on the lacrosse team of a politically correct Washington, D.C. prep school.
Strong-willed Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is an intelligent, upwardly mobile African-American who lives in Anacostia, a grim ghetto project. Focused on obtaining a full scholarship to Princeton, she’s constantly urged to excel by her supportive grandmother (Leslie Uggams). Tosha plays lacrosse “because no black kids do” and excels in math because nobody expects that from girls. Curiously, the mantra she keeps repeating to herself to escape from the oppressiveness of her poverty pocket is “Black Bitch,” which takes on a deeper meaning as the story evolves.
Lonely, boozing, irresponsible Jesse (Louisa Krause) lives in an exclusive, lily-white suburb with only a Hispanic maid for companionship, while her absentee activist mother (Ally Walker) circles the globe. As a result of her low self-esteem, self-destructive Jesse neglects her schoolwork and is so brazenly promiscuous in the school locker room that someone has scrawled “slutster” on her locker in black marker.
“Why did you let boys take photos of you like that?” Tasha asks Jesse.
“I wasn’t in a position to stop them,” Jesse replies. “But I’m not like that now.”
Making an impressive feature film debut at Sundance ’09, Brooklyn-based writer/director/producer Emily Abt is an astute observer of the behavior of young adults, offering a candid, yet compassionate glimpse of the ethical choices they make as their disparate lives intersect, particularly when they’re attracted to the same boy, Rashid (Silvestre Rasuk), who is going though his own identity crisis, admitting “non-Muslim girls are just for practice.”
Since the two leading ladies – Sonequa Martin and Louisa Krause – establish an amazingly urgent relationship that re-defines each of their characters and deliver polished, touching, insightful portrayals, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Toe to Toe” is a solid, sensitive 7, exploring social/racial tensions and aimed at a young adult audience.
