Director: J.D. Dillard
Writer: J.D. Dillard, Alex Theurer (Screenplay)
Starring: Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Dule Hill, Storm Reid, Sasheer Zamata, Michael Villar, Brandon Johnson, Cameron Esposito
Plot: A young street magician (Jacob Latimore) is left to care for his little sister after their parents passing, and turns to illegal activities to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets in too deep, his sister is kidnapped, and he is forced to use his magic and brilliant mind to save her.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Throughout
Story: Sleight starts as we follow young street magician Bo (Latimore), Bo looks after his little sister Tina (Reid) after their mother has died. At night to make money he is a drug dealer for Angelo (Hill) and he uses all his tricks to stay one step ahead of people.
When Bo gets to see the darker side of the drug dealing game as he learns just how territorial Angelo is, forcing him into actions he would never imagine even though this is the only option for him to make enough money to give his sister the future he wants for her. We are left to see is Bo can get himself out of this world before it is too late.
Thoughts on Sleight
Characters – Bo is a young street magician, he takes care of his little sister the best he can which means he has become a drug dealer on the side, but when he starts to look for a way out he only finds himself needing to use all his skills to leave the world. Holly is the new girlfriend that walks into Bo’s life, she offers him support through the difficult decision he finds himself in. Angelo is the drug kingpin in the city that Bo works for, he starts off being a friend or father figure for Bo but he soon shows he darker side when it comes to people crossing him.
Performance – Jacob Latimore is great in this leading role, we manage to understand every emotion he finds himself needing to go through during the movie, Seychelle Gabriel is a good in the supporting role but you do feel in places we could have more from the character, Dule Hill is an actor I only know from comedy most Psych, but he shows he can pull off serious in this film being a threat you didn’t see coming.
Story – We have seen the story of an innocent kid/young man falling into the drug dealing world before, but not many films have shown us a character in Bo that had little choice, while the consequences he faces are only he own doing. Part of myself wonders why he went on with his decision because he seems like he is making the money to make ends meet and follow his magician dreams too. While I do enjoy where this film went I did kind of wish we would see more from the magician side of everything.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action side of the film does come from anything on the drug dealing side of the story, while the sci-fi comes from the magic and how it is all achieved.
Settings – LA makes for a wonderful setting to show us just how easy it could be to get caught up in a drug circle, he may not be using but he is selling and dealing with the consequences involved.
Scene of the Movie – Getting Tina back.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It feels like he didn’t need to do what he did to cause everything.
Final Thoughts – This is a good look at the drug world people can be dragged into, it shows us responsibility that Bo needed to face and most importantly how far people will go for an art form.
Overall: Enjoyable movie well worth watching.
Rating
