Somewhere in Garden Heights, the fictional American city at the center of On the Come Up, is a towering mural of Lawless, one of the community's biggest rappers. Ella's daughter Bri Jackson (Jamila C. Gray), who goes by Lil' Law, frequently visits this vibrant portrait when she needs guidance. It is an exercise in meditation, a way of refocusing. Bri is determined to become one of the best rappers in the Heights, just like her father.
On the Come Up, her calm and confident directorial debut from Sanaa Lathan, chronicles the 16-year-old's journey to becoming a star and honoring the legacy of her dead father. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be released by Paramount+ on September 23, is based on the novel of the same name by Angie Thomas. Thomas, whose debut novel The Hate U Give also received the big-screen treatment, has, over the years, become something of a contemporary bard for young black men, sensitively retelling their coming-of-age stories. His style may not be new, but they have caught the attention of the spirit of the times.
Director: Sanaa Lathan
Writers: Zora Howard, Kay Oyegun, Angie Thomas
Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man
Lathan's adaptation, with a screenplay by Kay Oyegun, captures the youthful side and poetry of Thomas's novel. On the Come Up is a powerful narrative about family, chasing dreams and maintaining integrity that is sure to find a following among younger audiences. Even when he piles on the clichés, becoming too reliant on necessary melodramatic beats, the film doesn't lose heart.
There are few places where Bri feels at peace. But when she stands in front of her father's mural, fingering a gold necklace he gave her before her death, she can momentarily forget her list of worries. Her mother, Jay, a recovering heroin addict, is months behind on rent and electricity. Her brother Trey tries to help her, but her job at the pizzeria doesn't pay her much. At school, Bri and her best friends Malik and Sonny face constant surveillance from security guards, who find them more suspicious than the rest of the mostly white student body.
Rap is another balm. Standing at The Ring, a local boxing center where aspiring and established rappers come to battle, Bri takes on a different persona. Her lyrics, written here by North Carolina rapper Rapsody, display fluid fluency and verbal prowess. Her performance doubles as a release valve for the pressures around her. When she enters the zone, she rises.
On the Come Up opens with Bri trying to wrestle M-Dot, a local rapper, but the young woman drowns before she starts the competition. Thrown by M-Dot's references to her mother's heroin addiction and her father's death, Bri storms off the stage instead of spitting. Following closely behind her is her manager and her aunt, Pooh, who tries to remind Bri that failure is part of the process. She encourages her niece to never give up, one of the film's recurring lessons.
Bri tries to keep that in mind and eventually returns to The Ring, but her return is bitter. One day after her battle with M-Dot, Bri is physically assaulted by one of the school's security personnel. Citing Bri's history of "aggressive" behavior and selling contraband on school property, school administrators suspended her. The situation is complicated by the fact that Jay has lost his job at the church due to budget cuts. With the fragile reality of her shaking from her, Bri doubles down on her rap dreams. She returns to the Ring and wins a battle against Milez, a local favorite and son of Lawless's old manager Supreme. The epic trade redeems Bri and puts her on the map.
An increased profile causes Bri to question Aunt Pooh's ability to handle her. After an uncertain situation, instigated in part by Pooh's long-running feud with another gang, results in the young rapper being kicked out of The Ring, Bri dumps her aunt and signs with Supreme. But there's a sinister side to that sweet deal, especially as Supreme encourages the young rapper to write songs and adopt a persona that would satisfy rap's biggest consumers: suburban white kids.
As an adaptation, On the Come Up doesn't have much narrative flexibility. Lathan is married to Thomas' complex history, which doesn't always translate perfectly on screen. There are parts of the movie—Bri's parking lot battle with another female rapper, Sonny's burgeoning queer relationship, and even Bri's own romantic escapades—that feel undercooked and touch on themes we never return to.
Watch On The Come Up 2022 Movie Trailer
Comments
Post a Comment