Just Another Girl on the IRT (15)

★★★ Terrific slice-of-life stuff, by turns funny and sad, with Ariyan Johnson excellent as an ordinary New York high-school student who's determined to better herself, but whose plans get back-burnered when she gets pregnant. ~ Radio Times.

---

Originally released in 1993 and the only feature film to date by writer-director Leslie Harris, returning to cinemas in a new 4K restoration, Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. is a film full of spark and life – just like its protagonist. 

Chantel Mitchell, a teenager growing up fast in Brooklyn, has big dreams.

She has hopes of becoming a doctor, and not a product of her environment – not just another girl on the I.R.T. But when she meets Tyrone, things get complicated and Chantel’s world is turned upside down. 

---

★★★★ There’s an undimmed freshness, warmth and freewheeling energy in this 1992 indie gem, and its director Leslie Harris – whose career since has chiefly involved writing and teaching – deserves a far bigger presence in US film history. ~ The Guardian.

★★★★ A low-budget winner combining a sharp, protean visual style - one minute music video, the next cinema verite - with impudent humour, raw emotion, a thumping good rap soundtrack and some pertinent lessons in choice and responsibility. The IRT, by the way, is a subway line in New York. ~ Empire.