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As
An Act of Protest
Best
Black Movie Nobody Will See This Year
By Kam
Williams
Samuel L.
Jackson caught a lot of flak a few months ago for stating that
he preferred to work with legitimate actors over rap stars. I
don't think that the criticism was fair because he was
essentially merely the messenger in announcing an alarming trend
that was on the way. The simple point Sam was trying to make is
that when the studios opt to place rappers in lead roles, it
puts legitimate actors out of work. And Jackson would be one to
notice this trend early, obviously, as someone kept abreast of
casting decisions being made way before the release of a movie.
Now, we are already
beginning to witness the fallout. Very recently in theaters,
there's Eminem in 8 Mile, Ja Rule and Kurupt in Half Past Dead,
Ice Cube and Eve in Barbershop, Ice Cube again in Friday After
Next, Cam'ron, Doug E. Fresh, Damon Dash and s'more hip-hoppers
in Paid in Full, and Mos Def, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane and a
host of others in Brown Sugar.
Personally, I don't
have a problem with the rappification of the movie biz, except
to the extent it prevents such an excellent feature like As an
Act of Protest from finding distribution. Filmed in Harlem on a
shoestring budget by its writer/director/co-star Dennis Leroy
Moore, this coming-of-age tale chronicles the career
frustrations encountered by a couple of film school grads.
Both of these gifted
youngsters are African-American, Cairo (Luis Laporte) an
aspiring actor, Abner (Moore) a would-be director. This
creatively-inclined pair emerges from the conservatory eager to
make an impact, armed with new ideas and a fresh-faced optimism.
Sadly, we see just how easy it is for a black kid to have his
dreams ultimately dashed by the harsh realities of a racist
world that isn't very interested in what contributions he might
like to make.
Last year, The Visit
was the best African-American-themed film nobody saw. This year,
it'll be As an Act of Protest. What a shame that such a
sophisticated story could be overlooked by the major studios in
favor of more of that mass dumbing down. The incessant barrage
of mindless films like Friday after Next don't give a hint that
a movie like As an Act of Protest is even out there.
See this movie and
you'll understand why Samuel L. Jackson doesn't want to work
with rap stars. For there are already an array of uncompromising
black actors, writers, and directors collaborating to create
movies of far more substance
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated with profanity and violence.
Article
Dated 11/27/2002
As An Act of Protest was
written & directed by Dennis Leroy Moore and produced by
Melissa Dymock, A John Brown X Production * * * *
*
update 1
July 2008 |
