Chop Shop is easily one of the top 5 films I've seen this year, along side Medicine for Melancholy.Shop does--and so does Medicine--what I love best about great films. It just starts. No exposition. No montages. No foreshadowing.
These chunks of a review from Movie Zeal say it best:
The characters are given no back-story, and probably have little future; the only thing that matters in Chop Shop is the action in the moment.
...Chop Shop isn’t really about plot; all that exists or matters in this film are the characters and their actions. There’s a good deal of Italian neorealist influence here as well, albeit without the philosophical pretensions.
My greatest complaint about storytelling now days, is we rarely get to see a character make a decision and then watch the outcome. Too many films are about watching a character contemplating a decision. Talking about a decision. Or dreading a decision they made.
If you're looking for something interesting to check out, rent this flick. If you have Netflix you can watch it online now.
