Steel City

R

2006

1h 36m

Drama

Crime

List

83%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

As his brother (Clayne Crawford) muddles through a workaday job, and his father (John Heard) sits in a jail cell after a fatal drunk-driving crash, P.J. Lee (Thomas Guiry) works as a dishwasher in a Midwestern mill town. P.J. halfheartedly pursues a relationship with local girl Amy Barnes (America Ferrera) and temporarily bunks with his ex-Marine uncle, but family troubles weigh on him. Barely 20 but already worn down, P.J. might be the only person who can help his family heal.

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Critics Consensus

A blue-collar drama with an uncommonly strong sense of its characters and setting, Steel City suggests a bright future for debuting writer-director Brian Jun.

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Audience Member

Great indie movie about real life in a real working class town, with realistic, relatable characters. Loved it- this is my kind of movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film has been sitting in my Netflix top 10 suggestions for a very long time until I finally watched it... and holy shit it was awesome! This film was extremely dark and an emotional roller coaster. This indie drama centered around a poverty stricken family and Pennsylvania. "Steel City" is one more spectacularly written and shot indie films I've seen in a very long time. The film was very understated, but so spectacularly written, acted and directed that you always knew what the actors were feeling, what they meant and that there was mutual understanding. And to think, the lead in this film was Tom Guiry. Yes, Smalls from "The Sandlot" and no, he wasn't killing me. It was a truly remarkable piece of cinema and I highly suggest it -- 9/10.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the best drama films I have ever seen. The acting was fantastic. Thomas Guiry has grown up and done so well in this film. John Heard did a spectacular job as well. One of the most underrated films. A must see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

America Ferrera could've had a bigger role. The star was good, though. I did enjoy the familiar scenery but I wonder what the film says about people from the area.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

CAST: Tom Guiry, John Heard, Raymond J. Barry, America Ferrera, Kristian Best, Rusty Gray, James R. Hentrich, Heather McComb DIRECTED BY: Brian Jun SUMMARY: When PJ Lee's (Tom Guiry) father is arrested for vehicular manslaughter, it's just the icing on the cake for a teen whose life is already difficult, thanks to a broken home and dysfunctional relationships. In short order, PJ gets fired, has a falling out with his girlfriend and is kicked out of the family home. MY THOUGHTS: "This movie had some good acting in it, but the story was a bit slow. The issues they all are dealing with is sad, and the acting is there, it's just the story takes awhile to get going. When it starts theres cops, ambulances, and a crash scene. But it never gives all the details of what happend. But I guess it may not have needed to. If you just sit back and let the movie be and not think about the story and where its going, its watchable. But in the end the acting is the only thing good that came out of this. But I still liked it. Still worth seeing."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie didn't interest me at all on first viewing, and I found myself skipping forward to Clayne Crawford's scenes then skipping again. But when I watched the film with director/cast commentary, it really came alive. Now I can watch it and enjoy it, seeing the artistry that I first missed. Definitely a film with more layers than are obvious on first glance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

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Brian Jun

Director

John Heard

Carl Lee

Tom Guiry

PJ Lee

America Ferrera

Amy Barnes

Clayne Crawford

Ben Lee

James McDaniel

Randall Karns

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Richard Nilsen

Arizona Republic

Steel City is gritty, blue-collar and surprisingly dry-eyed. If it hadn't been a movie, it could have been a song off Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 28, 2007

Full Review

Andrea Gronvall

Time Out

Many traps await novice filmmakers, but writer-director Jun has bypassed most in his absorbing debut.

Rated: 4/6

Jun 23, 2007

Full Review

Tasha Robinson

AV Club

Writer-director Brian Jun makes it clear that Steel City isn't about big events, even crucial inciting ones. It's about day-to-day decisions and how they change and inform relationships.

Rated: B

Jun 16, 2007

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Awfully low-key yet undeniably engaging...

Rated: 2.5/4

May 13, 2008

Full Review

Josh Bell

Las Vegas Weekly

Nearly everything about Steel City is pure Indie Filmmaking 101.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 15, 2007

Full Review

Chris Hewitt

St. Paul Pioneer Press

For big chunks in the middle of the movie, Steel City seems lost and styleless, but it builds a cumulative power as we get closer to learning what's up.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 14, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

As his brother (Clayne Crawford) muddles through a workaday job, and his father (John Heard) sits in a jail cell after a fatal drunk-driving crash, P.J. Lee (Thomas Guiry) works as a dishwasher in a Midwestern mill town. P.J. halfheartedly pursues a relationship with local girl Amy Barnes (America Ferrera) and temporarily bunks with his ex-Marine uncle, but family troubles weigh on him. Barely 20 but already worn down, P.J. might be the only person who can help his family heal.

Director: Brian Jun
Producer: Eric Arlt, Mark Covington, Mike Gandy, P.J. Jun
Screenwriter: Brian Jun
Production Co: Your Half Pictures
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|Language)
Genre: Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 23, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.2K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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