Hurricane Streets (1998)

Directed by Morgan J. ''no, not him, another one, hence the middle initial'' Freeman, Hurricane Streets, a harmless zephyr of a tale about the travails of a tough-yet-sensitive kid named Marcus, the leader of a gang of penny-ante teenage thieves in NYC's East Village, aims for street-smart urban angst but sounds one hokey note after another; it's typical of the film's lack of subtlety that it highlights Marcus' emotional fragility by making him asthmatic. Brendan Sexton III, so memorably sullen in Welcome to the Dollhouse, is reduced to downcast glances and sub-Brandoesque mumbling. That said, the picture did win three awards at Sundance '97, including the direction and audience prizes, so individual wind resistance may vary. C-

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