I liked the opening super over the first shot. I know that probably wasn't your decision, but I don't think I've ever seen that done before.
The shots of devastation were timed well with James opening words. I could already tell you have a great sense of pacing. at 0:20 I really liked the action of James leaning into frame. Subtle, but nice touch.
I thought the car sound at 0:29 overlapped with James' trailing off "down" too much. I personally would have liked a little more separation and started the car noise slightly later. It would have given me a little more time to consider the sadness I think his statement conveyed.
Did you ever go in closer on James during the interview? I like the interview setup with him on the stoop, but for statements that could be emotional, I would have liked to see some closer framed shots.
Similar to how you overlap audio, I like how you don't cut immediately to your subjects when they begin talking. You leave that extra second or two of video up with them talking under it, and then go to them. I also do this on a regular basis and feel like it is one of those "feel good" edits. But I'm not sure if I could explain very well why I do it. How would you explain why this is a good practice?
Did you light Scott's interview?
I noticed that most of the foreclosure sign shots were out of focus with something in focus in the foreground. I like the effect, but did you have a motivation for this? Sometimes I like to think in theoretical terms, so do you have a theory on something you were trying to convey by doing this? Or was it more just your personal style?
If you intended for that last yellow foreclosure sign to fade away in the exact position that James was in the next shot, I'm gonna be WAY IMPRESSED! My eye was led directly from the sign, to James sitting way far back in the shot in front of all those steps. However, if that yellow sign had been in focus rather than the mailbox--which was vying for some attention--maybe your control of the viewers eye would have been even stronger.
...just tryin' to help a brother out