Justin Lin's independent feature about a group of good kids gone bad caused a stir at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where at least one audience member objected to its depiction of Asian-Americans. The incident may have gone unnoticed except that Roger Ebert was inspired to defend the film both at the screening and in his column, giving it enough attention to ultimately land Lin a distribution deal with MTV Films. Lin is certainly a talented director, drawing fine performances from his young cast, who, like many Asian-American actors, are normally consigned to bit roles. Clearly inspired by Martin Scorsese, Lin also has a good sense of pacing and visual energy. Like Scorsese's Goodfellas, Better Luck Tomorrow is narrated by a mentally unraveling protagonist, with the plot gaining momentum in rhythm with his increasing desperation. Lin and cinematographer Patrice Lucien Cochet also imbue the film's Southern Californian locale with dazzling natural light playing off soulless suburban housing developments, neatly connecting the characters' malfunctioning moral compasses to their bland surroundings. The touchstone for this kind of suburban anomie exploding into violence is Jonathan Kaplan's unjustly forgotten Over the Edge, which managed to make the same point much more forcefully. In fact, there isn't much new in Lin's film. It's competently made and well-acted, but, like a lot of independent films, it covers the territory of suburban restlessness without adding anything fresh to the mix. This is only Lin's second feature, and as one of the few successful Asian-American directors, he certainly has something to say. Hopefully he will have the chance to apply his talents to something more challenging and unique in the future.