Old Friends Confront Dreams Deferred Unfolding in Brooklyn on the night of President Obama's 2008 election, "Big Words" explores weighty themes with a very light touch. Weaving race, class, sexual orientation and politics - as well as the evolution of rap music - into a wistful tapestry of male disaffection, the film's writer and director, Neil Drumming, introduces three not-so-young men whose friendship fell apart 15 years earlier along with their rising hip-hop group. All are to some extent stalled in the past, paralyzed by issues and resentments they have never addressed. John (Dorian Missick), a rhyming genius recently fired from the computer job he despised, hangs out in a strip club, unsure of his next move. His cousin James (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a successful publicist dissatisfied with his upscale life and long-term boyfriend, is unwilling to recall his history as a closeted rapper. And Terry (Darien Sills-Evans), angry and aimless, remains soured by the bitterness of success denied and talent betrayed. As Mr. Drumming's whip-smart screenplay effects an uncomfortable group reunion, the film's playlike structure and relaxed rhythms perfectly frame conversations infused with pre-gentrification memories and music industry nostalgia. Throughout, his droll, insightful dialogue has a natural pop and sway that the actors clearly relish - especially Yaya Alafia, magnificent as a coolly self-possessed dancer who sees right through John's smoke screen of apathy. Warmly photographed by Cliff Charles, "Big Words" is an engrossing, coming-of-middle-age drama that shows how disappointment can fester and derail a life. By the end, hope and change seem possible but far from guaranteed.