(MA) Robert Downey Jr, Dianne Wiest

Told in flashbacks, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is based on sections of Dito Montiel's memoir of the same name.

We're first introduced to the older, successful Dito (Robert Downey Jr) of the present who is faced with the prospect of going back to his old neighbourhood and the many loose ends that he left tangled there.

The biggest of those is his father, who disowned Dito after he "abandoned" the family back in his youth. Now he is dying and Dito has little time left to decide whether to forgive his father or maintain his anger.

Sitting down in the cinema for this was less like watching a film and more like standing on a street corner for a day in Queens in the mid-'80s.

While Downey Jr puts in a great performance, during his time on screen you are reminded that you're watching a movie, and it takes something away from the energy created by the younger actors.

It's their film, and they skilfully create a world of extremes which eventually lead Dito to choose between life and family.

The film covers similar territory to others such as Mean Streets, but is nonetheless a disturbing and moving account of some of the tougher decisions made in youth when there are no right answers.

Lyndal Irons