Writer-director Minhal Baig has made this unexpectedly lyrical, heartfelt 2023 film set against a real-life tragedy that occurred in Chicago's ravaged Cabrini Green housing projects in 1992, the killing of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis amid rising gang violence and brutality from the Chicago police. Focusing her story on two ten-year-olds, best friends who depend on each other for survival, Baig draws out deeply affecting work from Gian Knight Ramirez as Eric and especially wide-eyed Blake Cameron James as Malik. It's their coming-of-age story that makes the surrounding plotlines and performances resonate. Jurnee Smollett plays Malik's hardworking mother with assurance even as her character sometimes comes across as a stereotypical trope. As the wise grandmother who brought them to Cabrini Green when it held more promise, S. Epatha Merkerson makes remarkable her few scenes. I only wish Eric's backstory was given as much depth, though the inevitable upheaval the boys face still packs an emotional wallop.
Plot summary
In 1992 Chicago, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city, looking to escape the mundaneness of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing, their unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
June 25, 2024 at 02:25 PM
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Deeply Affecting Coming-of-Age Tale Set in Chicago's Devastated Cabrini Green
one of the best movies I've ever seen
This is a sleeper, is a story of childhood, of best friends, of family, of history, of life, of circumstances, of inequality, of color, of what it is to be real people, real good people, the best and the brightest, of struggle, of survival, of success, of meaning, of growing up, of innocence, of happiness, sadness and of sheer joy, the young actors are great!, their display of emotions is remarkable, pure, there is nothing to not like about this movie, it's about bringing out the best in us despite what life may bring, it's about hope, about the simple dignity of who we are as people, Eric and Malik exist!, WE EXIST!