Review by Christopher Zara
Set in the grimy Lower East Side of the early '80s, Kill the Poor is a spiky
glimpse at the socioeconomic seeds that lead to gentrification. The film opens with a
shotgun marriage between underachiever Joe Peltz (David Krumholtz) and immigrant
stripper Annabelle (Clara Bellar), two 20-somethings who quickly find themselves
expecting a baby and in need of a more spacious, low-rent apartment―a tough find
in Manhattan amid Reagan-era recession. Joe and Annabelle move to an illegal
squat located on the fictional Alphabet City extension of Avenue E. Their new
building is home to a motley mix of disenfranchised residents who must
frequently guard it from intrusive junkies and other nuisances.
Having transformed their dingy digs into a makeshift co-op, the building's
tenants hold regular meetings as a group called "the corporation." Most of the
meetings' topics revolve around Carlos (Paul Calderon), a thuggish
fellow resident who has lived in the building longer than the rest yet refuses
to pay rent. Despite Carlos's seniority, most of the tenants want him out, and
Joe finds himself refereeing an escalating conflict between old neighbors and
new.
Kill the Poor raises some interesting questions about gentrification and all
the term implies. Is it really the American way, as one tenant cynically
suggests, to land oneself a new home by pushing someone else out of theirs? It’s
a notion with added heft when framed against today's Lower East Side and its über-hip makeover. Ironically, though, it's the movie's own awkward hipness that
hurts it. The script by Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), while punchy in the
right places, borrows too much from the Pulp Fiction-school of non-linear
storytelling. The results are only half successful, and a surplus of haphazard
scene jumping ends up feeling forced. Director Alan Taylor, to his credit, makes
excellent use of the limited resources at his disposal. (The movie was produced
by digital-video purveyors InDigEnt, who famously keep production costs to a
minimum.) Wide street shots are cleverly avoided, yet Taylor employs just enough
grit to hint at a bygone era without the need for massive recreations of Koch's
New York.
Still, it would be a shame if Kill the Poor had the final say on an issue so
perfect for divisive art-house commentary.