"Zebrahead" is hardly as polished as Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever," but Anthony Drazan's low-budget film succeeds as a thoughtful look at an urban interracial romance, in this case between two teens in a Detroit high school.
While one could quibble about the romantic plotting here, which resembles too many familiar yarns that have gone before (dating all the way back to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"), there is a freshness in the natural performances of the young central cast and a contemporary urgency to the main theme of whether different races should make an effort to get along.
The story has young Nikki (N'Bushe Wright) arriving as a new student in school, catching the eye of her cousin's best friend Zack (Michael Rapaport). Nikki is black and Zack is white (and Jewish) and there are, naturally, some concerns from their parents and friends about the relationship as it develops.
Both have family problems, and their school is wracked with drugs and violence . . . as if simply going through adolescence isn't hard enough.
The film explores the feelings of Zack and Nikki, along with many peripheral characters involved in their lives, in an attempt to show how two people drifting together can start a tidal wave of reverberations throughout their community.
Some of the film comes off as rather superficial, but there are moments of truth that ring throughout. One of the things I enjoyed most is Drazan's attention to minor details, his slice-of-life approach to such things as the devastating effect brought on by an overheard, thoughtless comment. (It's also nice to see it all end on an optimistic note, however fragile.)
As a first film, "Zebrahead" is quite remarkable, and certainly Drazan and his impressive young cast are people to watch for in the future.
The film is rated R for considerable profanity and vulgarity, with some sexual content (though there are no graphic sex scenes) and drug use.