A familiar autobiographical glow surrounds former punk rocker and author Dito Montiel’s debut feature, in which the successful adult artist (Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood haunts to reconcile and reflect. Montiel’s honey coated Queens of the mid-’80s is rich with the violence and carnality of teenagers, and the performances of LaBeouf (as the young Dito) and Channing Tatum (as his Stanley Kowalski-like grunt friend, Antonio) are raw pleasures. Volatile editing and cinematography adds texture, though on screen script text and a soft rock soundtrack make for curious choices. More on Montiel’s downtown art scene flirtation and subsequent career in LA might have taken his film beyond well-shot coming-of-age grit.
• Write your own review