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Riley90
Reviews
Pawno (2015)
Inauthentic and out of touch
I want to preface this by saying I was raised in Footscray and have lived there for close to two decades, so my comments on this film have some validity.
I'll start with the positives. Loved the cinematography, the film nails a lot of the 'Footcrayisms,' and visually it provides an accurate depiction of my treasured city. Also, loved little inclusions like the doggies flag in the bathroom. Those kinds of details are important if you want to capture how footy-proud this suburb is. As far as accuracy, unfortunately that's where it stops.
The characters had me cringing to the heavens! Why oh why did the film need to whitewash one of the most diverse suburbs of an already multicultural city??? Of the four (yes, a measly four) minority characters depicted in the film, every single one was a supporting role to a white lead and on top of that they reaffirmed ethnic stereotypes! So unnecessary. If it helps, I was way more interested in their life stories than the boring/grumpy pawn shop owner.
Anyway, back to the white-centric cast. Let's see...protagonist? White. Pawn shop owner? White. Every female deemed attractive? White. Trans female? White. Basically, any fleshed out character was white and every diverse cast member felt tokenised, like they were there just to fill the 'ethnic' quota. Yuck.
If it wasn't enough to tokenise them, the filmmaker also reaffirmed stereotypes. Dodgy Indian dentist? Tick! Homeless Indigenous male with a drug problem? Yep! Asian female obsessed with sexually pleasing a gross older white man? Duh! Oh and how can I forget the bubbly Black best friend? Seriously. I kid you not. That's exactly how each minority were depicted. In 2015. Talk about out of touch.
I really hope the filmmakers read this. Pawno had a very tame plot that was not ethnic specific. It could have easily gone a different route when it came to selecting the major characters but obviously that proved too much of a challenge. Maybe next time don't opt for such a diverse suburb if you're not going to be truly reflective of its people.
All Eyez on Me (2017)
Disappointing!
All Eyez on Me had so much potential to be great, but ultimately (and unfortunately) failed to deliver.
When you consider Pac's legacy and how long it took for the film to get the green light, it's a no brainer why expectations were so high. In a lot ways, Tupac's larger-than-life story is the film's own undoing because his life simply can't be condensed into two hours.
By trying to pack in as much as possible, the resulting plot is convoluted, superficial and uninsightful. If viewers were hoping to gain any kind of insight or fresh take into his unsolved murder, think again. It's so very tame on that front, glossing over Suge's speculated involvement completely, or any of the popular theories for that matter.
The way it addresses Pac's beef with Biggie is almost comical, portrayed as though they were schoolyard frenemies rather than active participants in a very real gang culture that fueled the east coast-west coast rivalry.
The plot is also jumpy AF. The first 40 or so minutes of the film depicts a reflective Tupac while being interviewed during his final months in prison. Despite taking up a considerable portion of the film, not a lot is actually said. In fact, he got married to Keisha Morris at the time and not so much as her name is mentioned.
Contrastingly, Pac's relationship with Jada is almost overstated. We get it. They loved each other platonically. What about his other relationships (romantic or not) with stars like Madonna, Lisa Lopes, Rosie Perez or Janet Jackson? I realize Jada was a lifelong friend but it came off like Pac only had one real friend in the entire industry. As for his fiancé Kidada, their relationship felt insincere throughout the film, which is an insult to the woman considered to be the love of his life.
On a positive note I thought the acting was relatively good. Salute to Demetrious Shipp, his resemblance to Pac is honestly trippy on certain angles and I know he studied the star down to his specific hand movements and mannerisms. Shipp should leverage his newfound fame for all it's worth cos I think he has a bright future ahead of him provided he wants it.
Props to the soundtrack, which includes some of Pac's biggest hits. It makes up for some of the film's many shortcomings but isn't enough to save it completely.
Costumes were also done really well. Tupac was such a definitive figure in the 90s hip hop fashion scene so they really couldn't afford to take shortcuts.
In all, the film was a let down but you that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. I think if I went knowing I wasn't going to learn anything new/see things from a new perspective then I wouldn't be so critical of it. Visually and musically it was still very enjoyable and nostalgic and any real hip hop head will value that alone.
It's no Straight Outta Compton or even Notorious but it will make you miss Pac and the enigmatic talent that he was.
White Girl (2016)
Too real
Wow. Saw this on Netflix the other day and it blew my mind, purely because it paints a vividly real portrait of white privilege, U.S. racial stereotypes and adolescent recklessness/naivety.
I'd best describe White Girl as Thirteen meets Kids meets Crazy/Beautiful. It's gritty, confronting and never shies away from giving the viewer a realistic portrayal of how the actions of a careless white girl can cause collateral damage to a community, all the while riding the wave of privilege.
This is Elizabeth Wood's first feature film, which is made even more impressive when I learned it's semi-autobiographical. She doesn't shy away from projecting Leah in a negative light and her character is far from admirable, highlighting Elizabeth's dedication to her craft above all else. (Btw, this is coming from a feminist's perspective – I'm mentioning this because I've seen White Girl labeled as misogynistic, which I don't think is the case at all.)
Leah is intentionally flawed and difficult to read. For the bulk of the film she's thinking about her own self interests first and foremost, whether it's getting her next hit, fetishizing her hot drug dealer neighbor Blue, recklessly losing $24k in drug money or blurring the lines with her boss at a magazine internship.
That being said, Leah's not completely soulless and does make attempts to redeem herself by helping to get Blue out of jail and on one occasion makes a fleeting attempt to return drugs to Blue's supplier. It's just not enough for you to sympathize for her character. Saylor's portrayal of Leah wasn't anything ground breaking, but at the same time I don't think it needed to be. All she had to highlight was that doll faced white girls can be dangerous too, and she does that effectively.
Brian Marc on the other hand blew me away! Like Wood, he has relatively few film projects under his belt but his performance in White Girl is well up there with the seasoned elite. The stare he gives in his final scene is everything. Brian's performance helps viewers realize he's not playing some wannabe G fu**boy drug dealer, he's playing someone far more vulnerable than that.
What Leah sees as meaningless fun, Blue sees as a form of stability and something serious. Leah has zero responsibilities whereas Blue deals as a means to support his family and to escape his circumstance. She sees sex, while he sees a future. Leah encourages him to be as wild and reckless as she is but fails to foresee how her preferential treatment in the justice system means she comes out unscathed while Blue winds up in jail.
The last five minutes really encapsulate this. Leah might be forever traumatized by the events that took place that summer but she gets to continue on with her life like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Blue will no doubt be reminded every living day as he (likely) serves out a murder sentence that didn't need to happen, had it not been for Leah's careless, selfish actions.
The scariest thing about this movie is its realness.