''Arresting Gena'' is a 1997 American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film written and directed by

Hannah Weyer Hannah Weyer is an American filmmaker and writer living in New York, who has written, directed and produced narrative and documentary films. Her films have screened at the Human Rights Watch, Sundance and the New York Film Festivals and won reco ...

and starring Aesha Waks,

Summer Phoenix Summer Joy Phoenix (née Bottom) is an American actress. She is the youngest sibling of actors River Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, and Liberty Phoenix. Early life Phoenix was born in Winter Park, Florida. Her mother, Arlyn Sharo ...

J. Smith-Cameron Jean Isabel Smith (born September 7, 1957), credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She spent a majority of her career in theatre but began transitioning to film and television later in life. She is known for her suppo ...

, and

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

. It premiered in competition at the 1997

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Premise

During the summer before her senior year of high school, 16-year-old Gena's life is abruptly changed when her mother falls into a coma and is put in the hospital. In the meantime, she goes to live with her Uncle John, whom she does not have much of a relationship with. She meets Jane, a charismatic runaway, and the two become friends. Gena is drawn into Jane's world, which includes Gena's older brother Sonny, who is also a petty criminal. Soon the girls find themselves caught up in Sonny's dealing with a local gang leader, Sugar.

Cast

Production

Director

attracted attention in 1995 with her

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

MFA thesis film, ''The Salesman and Other Adventures'', which won the Best Short prize at the

in 1995. Following this, she began work on ''Arresting Gena'', with the intention of screening it at Sundance. The script was workshopped at the Sundance Filmmakers' Lab in June 1995. Actress Aesha Waks was cast in the lead role following a two-month video submission audition process. Filming occurred in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Release and reception

''Arresting Gina'' premiered in competition at the

on January 24, 1997. It was expected to perform well there, with ''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

'' commenting it had "a nuanced script

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

explores the obsessive devotion of teenage girls and the societal pressures that pull them apart. Its locale feels genuine and the work seems to come from an honest emotional place." However, it received a mixed reaction at the festival and was not able to secure a distribution deal. In a ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' review, critic Emanuel Levy described ''Arresting Gena'' as a "frustrating, misconceived effort to illuminate the painful coming of age of its protagonist, a sensitive girl unwillingly pushed into a sleazy world of crime." Levy said the film's "most congenial scenes, which enjoy only brief screen time, are those depicting Gena’s romantic and sexual awakening. There are also some achingly touching moments in the interactions between Jane and Sonny, siblings realizing they can neither help nor rely on each other," but said, "lacking a third act,

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

has an abrupt, unsatisfying denouement", and that "Gena's character remains an enigma." In contrast, Lisa Alspector of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' wrote, "Writer-director Hannah Weyer keeps control of the extreme scenes...by being convincing with the quieter ones, and we get to know Gena well enough to accept the shifts in tone when she and Jane tangle with an undercover police officer or when she confronts Sonny after Jane disappears." Alspector concluded, "Weyer's portrait makes believable and comprehensible some apparently self-destructive things this teenager does in pursuit of thrills and emotional connections.

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 154584 1997 films 1997 crime drama films 1997 independent films 1990s American films 1990s buddy drama films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s female buddy films 1990s gang films American buddy drama films American coming-of-age drama films American crime drama films American female buddy films American gang films American independent films Films about runaways Films about siblings Films shot in New Jersey Teen crime films