Because Lee's previous films have been so fervently about something that they smothered much of the very humanity Crooklyn celebrates, the relaxed gait is strikingly apparent.

Apart from being the two female presences in the house, Carolyn sees singular fortitude and possibility in Troy. Their scenes together are the heart of the movie.

Lee seems to confuse noise with drama: the bickering Carmichaels create quite a racket, but we're seldom moved by their plight. In his most desperate moment, Lee shoots a long sequence through a distorted lens.

Unfathomable. Yet, as Crooklyn demonstrates, what may be out of reach for most is quite literally what Lee was born to do.