After thirteen years in prison, Adam returns to his old neighborhood, although no one is waiting for him there - not his ex-wife Donna, who lies to their son about his father, not his former friends, and certainly not Eli, the brother of the man Adam shot back then. But Adam wants to take his chance for a new beginning: He finds a job and a place to stay and a way to get closer to his son Jimmy. It almost seems as if his life is finally taking a turn for the better, but in the gloomy streets of New York, peace does not last. Because Eli can't stand the fact that his brother's murderer is on the loose again, and his buddy Mike, an eternal loser, secretly prepares a deal on his own account for his big exit as an errand boy of his drug dealer uncle Leff. All their paths cross on this one fateful night in Adam's bar - and only one of them will live to see the next morning... You have to use five pounds of pressure to push through the trigger of a Glock to the shot. Just a brief moment, a small effort of the index finger, to end a life and perhaps irrevocably derail many others. Director Phil Allocco processes many of his own experiences with 5 POUNDS OF PRESSURE, but first and foremost his rough crime thriller celebrates outstanding indie noir cinema of the kind Martin Scorsese last shot in the 70s: A gripping New York milieu story about revenge, atonement and redemption, which not only inspires with its authentic setting, but also comes up with a top-class cast. Unforgettably intense!