HOW SHE MOVE

SYNOPSIS:
Following her sister's death from drug addiction, high school student Raya (Rutina Wesley) is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighbourhood where she rekindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing.

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Raya (Rutina Wesley) has to leave her expensive private school after the death of her sister from drug related problems because her parents can't afford the fees, having spent their savings on the dead sister ... or something. That's the story Raya tells us as the film opens, and while it isn't very convincing or even rational, it sets the scene for her having to go back to her bad old 'burb where youngsters spend most of their time wearing attitude and doing this thing called step dancing. This is either a dance, if performed on a standard floor, or a show, if performed on a stage. Or a fight if performed by two aggressive women, say.

There is apparently a large step dancing culture in the US (another current film dealing with it, Step Up 2 The Street, a sequel to Step Up, opened in Australia March 20...) with its own jargon and passionate adherents. This film is for them, and from what I can tell, it's an entertaining enough escapade, showing the competitive nature of the genre and the many possible ways it can be choreographed. All with heavy boots stomping the floor. Or car bodies.

With its trite story the film is never going to impress the average critic, but there is energy and passion that make the film work for its target audience, and the choreography is inventive. Cast delivers simply drawn characters and the intensity of the milieu works in favour of the film's bold ambiance.