Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.

A teen girl struggles to reconcile her desire for self-improvement with her rebellious nature and her lack of maturity in this coming-of-age drama, which won first-time director Leslie Harris a special jury prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Chantel (Ariyan Johnson), the self-possessed eldest ...more

Unorthodox in its point of view but dogmatic in its presentation thereof, Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. is a bit of a mixed bag. Writer/director/producer Leslie Harris injects the gangsta-centric world of early-'90s African-American cinema with an all-too-rare depiction of an uncompromising young black woman. Lead actress Ariyan Johnson is a forceful screen presence who brings her mercurial character vividly to life, while the supporting players, though sometimes amateurish, help establish a ...more