Filmmaker Rashaad Ernesto Green makes his feature movie debut with Gun Hill Road -- and I’m advising film buffs to remember his name. Rashaad wrote as well as directed this gritty and heart-wrenching film. It’s filled with fearless performances by an impressive cast, including Esai Morales, Judy Reyes and Harmony Santana, who reach deep within their souls to play the key roles of a Latino father, mother and teenage youngster struggling to overcome estrangement, transgender issues, and environmental pressures.

When Enrique (Morales) arrives home in the Bronx (where Gun Hill Road is located) after serving a three-year prison sentence, his welcome seems less than warm, to say the least. His wife Angela (Reyes) fails to give him a loving greeting, and his son Michael (Santana) can’t wait to be with his friends. But Enrique’s biggest disappointment involves Michael’s lack of interest in sports or in any type of male activities. Enrique, a macho kind of guy, wants his son to be more masculine. However, Santana can’t be the son Enrique wants. In fact, the teenager is going through the early stages of transitioning to be female, even using the name of Vanessa part of the time. Angela has accepted Michael’s feminine behavior, so this adds even more fuel to the estrangement fire between her and Enrique. 

Morales (La Bamba; TV’s Caprica) lends high-voltage intensity to the role of a father who loves his son but doesn’t understand him. Reyes surprised me with her excellent dramatic chops here. I’ve enjoyed her so much in Scrubs and always thought of her primarily as a comedy actress, but she’s totally convincing as a long-suffering wife and mother in this somber movie. And newcomer Santana -- who is a true transgender teen now and goes by "she" -- tugs at our heartstrings with a sensitive, revelatory performance as Michael/Vanessa.   

It’s important to mention that Gun Hill Road is not easy to watch. Reminiscent of Boys Don’t Cry, the film appears almost too realistic, and some scenes are quite graphic. But like Transamerica, it offers a serious exploration of how difficult sexual transitioning can be for the individual who’s changing as well as for his/her family. Also, this movie represents a promising feature-length effort by Rashaad Ernesto Green, whose fans expect no less from him. After all, his short film Premature won the 2008 HBO short-film competition, plus in 2009 he received a Spike Lee Fellowship and was one of indie WIRE’s “Ten Exciting New Voices in Black Cinema.” Then in 2010, Rashaad made Filmmaker magazine’s list of “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”

Gun Hill Road premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and will be screening at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 27, 2011. Click here for more information.             

(Released by Motion Film Group; not rated by MPAA.)