Sunshine State

Ramshackle, leisurely and crammed with fine actors given free rein to do what they do best, this portrait of a divided Florida community recalls writer-director John Sayles' earlier LONE STAR (1996) and, to a lesser degree, LIMBO (1999). Island communities Delrona Beach and Lincoln Beach lie side by side but worlds apart. Delrona Beach is an anonymous tourist town, while Lincoln Beach, a dwindling African-American enclave, is a holdover from the pre-civil rights era when the black community's best and brightest flocked there to escape Southern racism. Both strips of sand are coveted by developers for whom green is only relevant color, and who are ready to do whatever...