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IMAGINE a sky high-profile actor approaching you personally to suggest turning your memoirs into a movie; a dream to most but a reality to author and musician Dito Montiel.

No wonder he thinks he's got saints watching his back.

It's easy to see why Robert Downey Jnr (the aforementioned actor) was attracted to Dito's retrospective look at his upbringing in, departure from and return to his neighbourhood of Astoria in Queens, New York.

For much of its running time, the film follows Dito (Shia LeBouf) and friends on a particularly steamy summer (in terms of temperature and behaviour) and while exchanging boyish banter with each other, cheeky insults with the girls and just hanging out, albeit minor mischief, there is always a pervading sense of something about to go terribly wrong which, more often than not, it does. Touching teenage friendships clash with blind teenage stupidity for violent and tragic results.

All these factors, along with a gang rivalry taken 10 steps too far, get Dito to dreaming of California. Yet his longing for escape and hopes for better things only develops into a life-long and barely-resolved feud with his proud father Monty (Chazz Palminteri).

Being directed by Dito himself, A Guide to Recognising Your Saints evokes the coming-of-age experience with incredible realism. There's barely a conversation, action or reaction which doesn't ring true here.

This authenticity, so gritty it scrapes, is further supported by excellent performances from, well, pretty much the entire cast. The run of events is nothing short of gripping but it is easily the acting which makes this movie.

Expect to see Shia LeBouf, who plays young Dito, a lot during the coming months. He's all over this summer's blockbusters and rightfully touted as the heir to Hollywood's "next big thing" title. As Dito, he's already proved himself as a more than capable male lead. What's more, he's incredibly likeable and aside from his obvious talent, quite ordinary looking. Something of a departure from the, let's face it, rather tiring tits-and-teeth talent trend.

The more experienced thesps on screen - Chazz Palminteri and Dianne Wiest - relish their small parts as Dito's parents. Wiest's quiet melancholy providing a perfect contrast to Palminteri's outspoken and fun yet stubborn Monty. Channing Tatum's turn as Antonio - a trouble-maker with a troubled upbringing - also stands out.

Although it feels like straight storytelling, a few clever little tricks - flitting between past and present, a touching scene where what Dito and his new school friend Mike O' Shea say and what they actually mean is compared and an ace 80s soundtrack - work a slither of Queens style in to the film.

The DVD format suits these subtleties, so watch carefully to see if you can recognise Dito's saints.