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1980s music-video maestro Steve Barron ("Billie Jean," "Take on Me") takes the plunge into indie digital-video dramas in this portrait of pathologically shy Salvadorian immigrant Jorge (Octavio Gómez Berrios) in Jamaica, Queens. The diner where Jorge works is staffed by a multicultural cross-section teetering on the brink of stereotype anchored by Mandy Patinkin's solid performance as the diner's Russian owner. As the plot shifts around Jorge's insular, paranoid point-of-view and his crush on a cheery, child-like Asian waitress (Eugenia Yuan), the film skirts many an indie cliché (magical realism, maudlin heart-to-hearts, loveable losers). Barron's sensitive handling of the characters, restrained use of showy dramatics, and skill with a camera finesses but does not obliterate these problems, and the use of animation feels particularly underdeveloped. But Jorge is a fascinating and original person, a lonely young man trying to resist his inner Travis Bickle, and Berrios' weird dark portrayal elevates the film above its mediocre DV counterparts. Michael Buening, All Movie Guide

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