There's Walter, a Vietnam War veteran and former Chelsea Hotel bouncer who soothes his post-traumatic stress disorder with alcohol, and Nuve, an Ecuadoran immigrant whose intense drive to house and school her five children is paving an upward path.
Since the film was shot, the filmmakers said, Nuve has moved her family into a nicer apartment, and Susan has relocated to Atlantic City, where the availability of retirement housing means she only has to can if she wants to.