Snitch Factory

Amid a background of bank robberies and fatal gun-shot wounds, the real drama here is bureaucratic and human. In her response to the adversity all around her, Peter Plate's Charlene Hassler, a social worker at the huge, anthill-like Department of Social Services complex on San Francisco's Otis Street, is a literary tour de force. As the anger and chaos at DSS reach epic proportions, we witness the strange heroism of Charlene's coworkers when they foll a hold-up; her boss's real vulnerability after a suicide attempt; and Charlene herself triumphantly winning her personal battle for romance in this true human comedy.