It's 1964 The Bronx. Violent Heinz (John Turturro) returns to his neighborhood after getting out of prison for an attempted rape of Linda (Jodie Foster). Harry (Tim Robbins) rescued Linda the first time but has turn pacifist since then. Somebody shoots a teacher with an arrow. Castro and Willie are two kids blowing up a store sign with cherry bombs. They pick up Melanie and Brita who are out of it from sniffing glue. Heinz is after Linda again thinking he's in love with her. Jamie would like to be her boyfriend who protects her.This movie is split in two. Turturro, Foster and Robbins inhabit one half. Turturro is great as the disturbed rapist. The penguins are weird. The acting is good but the script meanders a bit with a lot of strange turns. The other half has four lesser known actors. The girls are funny. It's odd that it seems to float on the surface of the movie without connecting to the other half. I do find the unknown actors' story interesting especially the elevator scene. I kept wondering what that story has to do with anything. The final reveal satisfied me to some extent. I wish it could have made more connections earlier in the movie.

Turturro plays a brutal psycho released from prison, and Foster plays the woman in peril. Neither is really pressed hard here, therefore.Robbins plays a guy who protected Foster before, but who is volunteering to go south to help the rights of blacks in the south, being inspired by Martin Luther King (this being a period drama). Foster also has a boyfriend who was crippled by Turturro when she was attacked.Turturro has a weird gift for Foster, and there's a teacher who inexplicably gets shot by an arrow. Meanwhile, there's a pair of guys who are paid to look after two glue-sniffing. And there's a pair of cops and so on...A strange drama with moments of comedy that don't really fit in comfortably. Seems more like an awkward play awkwardly made into a film.

Great movie with great acting. Having grown up in that part of the Bronx during that era, so much of the film rings true to me. As the film depicts there were good times & isolated horrific incidents. Shanley, the author has an ear for the rhythms of the era. Jodie Foster gives a nuanced understated performance portraying her character, making her very real.Tim Robbins in his pre-political gadfly days,also turns in an affecting performance.The supporting cast is excellent. I vividly recall the incident with the penguin in the fountain (much more benign in reality) from my teen age years. The film is a winner in every way.

Sorry, but I found this film, even with top notch actors, a bad taste film. Surprised Tony Bill directed this. There was no compassion for any of the characters. Everyone seemd to be a loser. Not one role seemd to have any conviction. They all seemd to be vacant and lost in a maze of self destruction. John Turturro, at least was thorough in his evil ways. But the Robbins character seemed poorly written and sadly the actor didn't find any salvation. The use of animals being beaten and killed, didn't please this viewer. Any more than throwing people off roofs. Violence was the theme and helplessness the winner. Not one character had my interest. In fact, they made me angry. It was a shame to see Miss Foster in this. Up to this film I had always liked her performances. Whatever possessed her to do this clinker? Not recommended for viewing, even on the tube.