"Everyone's here for one reason or another."
Marni Jamieson

People with mild mental retardation stand on the cusp of "normal," aware that they don't quite "make the cut." Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown looks inside the hearts and minds of two such people: Marni and Kris Jamieson, a married couple living, loving, and working in New York City. Aware of their handicaps, they must come to terms with people's prejudices and their own frustrated ambitions. Their real-life, gritty-textured story, filmed by Marni's sister over a two-year period, reveals contrasting, articulate, sometimes irreverent perspectives—laced with a strong sense of humor. It counters saccharine portrayals of the mentally disabled as pitiable or cute, and raises questions about what "intelligence" really is. MORE

Running time 46:35