Urbanworld Review: Jamal Joseph Tackles Cycles and Second Chances in 'Chapter &Verse'

So much of what ails the Black American community occurs in cycles. Blatant and institutionalized racism has led to poverty, mass incarceration, gang violence, and so may other problematic issues. Unfortunately, these problems occur time and time again, because the root of what is broken remains unfixed.

Produced by acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua, Jamal Joseph's "Chapter & Verse" is a film about terrible cycles, chances of redemption, and most importantly, it’s a film about fatherhood in the Black community.

Compassionately played by actor Daniel Beaty, (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jamal Joseph), the film follows S. Lance Ingram aka Crazy L from 118th, on his quest for a fresh start. Newly released from prison after an eight year sentence, Lance has returned home to Harlem, NY; a neighborhood that has been drastically transformed since his initial imprisonment. Harlem was once a neighborhood fully of violence and impoverishment; ramifications form the crack cocaine epidemic and the War on Drugs. However, gentrification has quickly given much of the area a complete overhaul.  Living in a halfway house, Lance attempts to get work by using the computer technology skills that he’s acquired in prison. Instead, he is only able to find employment at a soup pantry, washing dishes and delivering meals to those in need.

On one of his runs, Lance encounters Miss Mandy (played exceptionally by veteran actress Loretta Devine) and the duo strike up an unlikely friendship. As Lance works to redefine himself in society, and make the best of his second chance, he continually encounters Miss Mandy's troubled 15-year old grandson Ty, who is involved in the small but dangerous Harlem street gang, The Runners.

Since Miss Mandy can’t seem to get through to Ty, Lance takes it upon himself to try and show the angry young man some direction. He understands all too well the path that Ty is going down, and he tries desperately to get him to walk away. What is poignant about Lance and Ty’s relationship are the quiet moments. They observe one another often. Ty unwittingly looks to Lance as a guide, an example of manhood, while Lance is constantly considering how he should approach Ty. It’s a dynamic that is often glossed over when discussing the relationship between Black men and boys. And yet, Joseph captures it perfectly onscreen.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: Chapter & Verse Film

Urbanworld Review: In 'Romeo Is Bleeding' Shakespeare’s Tragedy Unfolds in Richmond, CA

"Violence is beyond flesh, it's spiritual."- Donté Clark

Most people are first introduced to Shakespeare in high school. As teenagers, we sat hunched over our desks trying to make sense of 16th century prose. More often than not, it felt like a bunch of archaic language mixed in with some incomprehensible jargon, until we were finally able to grasp the stories and the nature of the words.

Jason Zeldes’ “Romeo Is Bleeding” is the story of Donté Clark, a young educator, activist, poet and resident of Richmond, California. After rereading Shakespeare’s “Romeo + Juliet”, Clark realizes that the same strife that happens in the classic story, is also happening outside of his window.

Richmond, California is bleeding, hemorrhaging actually. North and Central Richmond have been at war for years, and people are being slaughtered in the streets on a daily basis. Donté Clark stands in the midst of this, desperate for change. Growing up in North Richmond with seven brothers and sisters, Clark's goal was to become the biggest drug dealer in the Bay Area. But, his goals shifted when his teacher, Molly Raynor, introduced him to Richmond’s "Making Waves" college preparatory program, where he discovered his most powerful weapon, his voice.

The documentary follows Clark as he rewrites Shakespeare’s tragedy into his own adaption, one that he hopes will bring together the youth of Central and North Richmond. Clark also enlists his students from his program RAW Talent (Richmond Artists With Talent), where he serves as artistic director, to help him write and put on the play, which he names, “Té’s Harmony”.

For the first quarter of the film, there were a ton of aerial shots of Richmond, along with flashy stylistic choices that really weren't needed. As the audience tries to get to know Clark and the world that he lives in, these over the top film techniques constantly jerked us out of the story. Luckily, as the film pressed forward, this calmed down considerably, letting the audience focus on Clark (who is extremely compelling) and the others involved in the RAW talent program.

For six months, RAW prepares “Té’s Harmony,” for the stage. Clark writes the dialogue, while his students write the monologues for their individual characters. They all come together numerous times for workshop sessions. During these workshops, we come to know more about Molly (Clark’s mentor) Deandre Evans, his protégé, and D’Neise Robinson who plays Harmony opposite Clark in the play. Evans especially seems adamant about running from a fate that so many of his friends have fallen to.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: Romeo is Bleeding Film

Urbanworld Review: '3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets' is a Gut-Wrenching Tale of Two Parents’ Determination to Seek Justice

Perhaps you've marched and rallied in the various #BlackLivesMatters protests over the past several years, or you're possibly connected to the thousands of gun violence victims and their families. Maybe you've watched the stories on television and read about them in the newspapers or on the Internet. Whatever your involvement, surely Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and Jordan Davis’ names mean something to you.

For Jordan Davis’ parents especially, his name meant everything. “3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets” is Jordan Davis’ story, it's a heartbreaking tale of two parents desperately seeking justice for their child. In 2012 on Black Friday, Jordan Davis was in a parking lot with two friends waiting for a third to come out of a gas station. The boys were relaxing in the car, blasting their music, and enjoying the early evening in Jacksonville, Florida. A white man named Michael Dunn decided that their music was too loud for him. Words were said, and 3 1/2 minutes later, Jordan Davis was dead.

The film opens with Jordan's parents, Ron Davis and Lucia “Lucy” McBath, discussing how they choose his name and moves through Michael Dunn’s murder trial, as the duo ban together to seek justice for their baby boy, who will be eternally 17 years old.  As if we were sitting in the courtroom ourselves, the audience becomes privy to inside information about the case. From very small details, like the time Davis last spoke to his girlfriend to Dunn's phone calls from prison to his fiancée, everything is slowly revealed. The audience hears from Davis' girlfriend, and the boys who were there on his last day. We learn who he was; that he was a terrible basketball player and a sharp dresser, and we get the smallest glimpses of the man he might have become. Davis was extremely close to his father, he was funny, loved, and outspoken. Throughout the film Jordan Davis speaks directly to us, and we listen because his parents demand that he be heard.

Much of the film felt very much like an episode of “First 48” or another reality crime program.  Jordan's last moments become reduced to the things he did that day, to the clothes he was wearing, and what he allegedly said. It's a film that is not only deeply rooted in race, but also grounded in gun violence and Florida's absurd “stand your ground” laws. It’s about this law's inability to work properly within our system. After all, it's absurd and impossible to try and determine what another human being is thinking.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets Film