By Ben Hooper.

The lives of three young Native Americans intertwine as they strive to reconcile contemporary American society with their traditional Navajo culture.

This directorial feature debut from Sydney Freeland features Robert Redford as an executive producer, and premiered this time last year at Sundance.

Having been orphaned, and then adopted by white Christian parents, Nizhoni warily heads back to the reservation to do community service for college credit. Luther ‘Sickboy’ Maryboy has to choose between the army and a thug life of breaking bad to support his pregnant wife and younger sister. Transsexual Felixia funds the dream of her modelling career through prostitution.

Their three stories paint a picture of a Land of Opportunity that provides little of that for its native people; and it’s this strong narrative and naturalistic characters that drive the film. While the execution and acting may occasionally feel amateurish, it only adds to the sense of authenticity in the film. The actors are largely first-timers, and handle the material with a passion and experience that comes from living it, rather than acting it.

The landscape is beautiful, especially in contrast to the boxy warehouses and dilapidated trailer-parks that litter it – a point made more poignant by Freeland’s elegant framing.

Drunkton’s Finest gives us an insight into a contemporary life and culture rarely captured on film, and does so without victimising its characters. Without descending into misery-porn territory, the film highlights the issues dealt with by many modern Americans – regardless of race – while celebrating the evolution of a multicultural society.

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