LUV is a film I wanted to like, but I just couldn't get all the way there. It tells the story of an 11-year-old African-American (Michael Rainey Jr.) who reunites with his Uncle Vincent (Common), who's just out of prison. Set in Baltimore, it's part coming-of-age tale, part crime drama, part sociocultural study. The sociocultural study element is the movie's strongest selling point: Unfortunately, the story itself is just too derivative. I reviewed LUV for Screen International.
