A group of friends from a rough, predominantly Italian-American neighborhood consider their future in surroundings dominated by petty crime in this drama. Nicky (Anthony DeSando) and his pals grew up together in the Federal Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island, where Nicky makes ends meet by dealing cocaine and stealing cars. His best friend Ralphie (Nicholas Turturro), who works in construction, is prone to wild mood swings and has a dangerous penchant for breaking into the homes of local wise guys, including mob boss Sal (Frank Vincent). He also has a barely sublimated sexual attraction to Nicky which he tries to camoflage with outbursts of anti-gay violence. Nicky falls for Wendy (Libby Langdon), an archeology student at nearby Brown University, when she buys some coke from him for a sorority party; while Wendy treats their affair casually, Nicky thinks that they have a future together, and he considers travelling with her to Italy for an upcoming archeological dig. Ralphie, however, resents Nicky for spending so much time with his new girlfriend, which makes his reckless streak even more pronounced. While Federal Hill was shot and released theatrically in black and white, a colorized version was distributed on home video over the objections of director Michael Corrente; the original monochrome version was later released on tape as well.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide