Movie Review: 'New Jersey Drive' (1995)

Nick Gomez's explosive drama about black New-ark teenagers who steal cars as casually as if they were shoplifting pencils. What makes the film a pow-erful experience is the way that Gomez employs his volcanic, this-is- happening-now aesthetic to mirror the view of his characters, who see crime not as a profit-driven enterprise but as instant gratification, a blood-quickening lunge at getting what whites have. Sharron Corley and Gabriel Casseus bring the heroes' humanity movingly close to us. A-