Slam (1998) Reviews

• 2/3 of a really good character study, results may vary

  Quinoa19842004-06-14

  In Marc Levin's Slam, perhaps the greatest asset he and cinematographer Mark Benjamin bring is the documentary-style to this urban-based drama. For the first few minutes of the film, I thought this would be a documentary. In a sense, when I realized when it wasn't it was a letdown, because even though this is a close-to-life depiction story of a kid in the ghettos of Washington DC, somehow if it really was a documentary it might've been even more compelling. As it is, Slam is a very naturalistic first-person drama, and the film deals with a protagonist that isn't hard to identify with, even when things seem a little over-done or even when it's a little naïve. Basic story in two sentences – Raymond Joshua (Saul Williams, also one of the film's co-writers) is set up to go to prison for pot, and while in prison he meets a few people that recognize his skills as a writer and poet. When he gets out he wants to hold on to the freedom he knows he can attain, but he doesn't know how. With this conflict, Raymond is a character that is recognizable and identifiable with the audience. And with this, Williams creates a constantly believable performance even when his character may not sound entirely believable or realistic. Although the performances are a plus for the film's success, such as Bonz Malone as Hopha, and Sonja Sohn as the writing teacher/poet Lauren, for me the style over-passed the substance. Though the poetry was inspired and the poets in the film who spoke them were very good, some of the story elements were not as effective as they could've been. For example, there's a blind-men analogy when Raymond gets out of jail and sees that his pot-dealer friend, who got shot, is now blind. Raymond is morally in the right in their final scene together, but it's a little too thick of a message for my taste when Raymond says, 'I once was blind too, now I can see.' Williams' poetry (which I assume he wrote himself) is interesting, although it's his delivery that catches my ear over the content. In a pivotal scene his poetry saves him from a beating in the prison yard, yet somehow it doesn't feel as real as some of the other scenes, like with him and Malone's character. As I said, the style was what held the film, especially for such a low budget. I loved the use of the hand-held, shaky mis-en-scene, as though someone was allowed to peek into the atmosphere of DC. And from a psychological standpoint, Levin seems to extract what the essence is of Raymond and his neighborhood. Through his usage grainy color and then to a 8mm camcorder for flashbacks from Raymond, I felt the emotional impact that Levin was going for, the mix of disorientation and of being in a free-fallin' kind of society where you don't know what can happen next. I just wished that I saw more of that with the characters and the story. Cool ending though. B

• Powerful!

  BSide1999-03-19

  Fantastic performances, a good story and interesting photography make Slam a very good movie; realism makes it a great one. I was in awe of the utter authenticity of the people, the situations, the energies in this film. I was suitably impressed by the emotions expressed and how effective it all was, for essentially a minimalist message (the odds are stacked against young black males in the inner cities) but even more impressed once I listened to the commentary on the DVD. I highly recommend you get your hands on the disc, and listen to the commentary after watching the film. Sure, it's a bit too self-congratulatory ("what a beautiful shot!" [it was only "nice"]) but the insight on the people involved--the writers, actors, poets... adds an incredible amount of depth to the experience. To quickly generalize: if you appreciate Spike Lee's work, you'll probably like Slam. Although Spike might be a little upset that a white Jewish director brought this to film :-)

• Something Old is New Again

  BeirutWedding12005-06-30

  This movie is responsible for a lot of things and after finally seeing it I now know why. What it lacks in polished film making it more than makes up for in honesty, passion and ambition. From the performances through to the writing and cinematography everything is raw and beautiful and vibrant with life in a way that we never see in Hollywood films. And I'll be damned if the subject isn't poetry and how it exists in and what it makes of real life. How it is real life. In many aboriginal cultures there is no separate category for art that differentiates it from the rest of life and this movie hearkens back to that cultural tradition. A young Saul Williams defines his life, takes action, heals himself and saves others through his poetry. All of the acting is fresh and real but Saul Williams and Sonia Sohn especially shine, as they should. There is something real going on that is being captured here and the rest of America better know what it is.

• Saul the poet

  kamy_222002-12-13

  A movie that will move you in every possible way. A 'black gangsta' movie that doesn't rely on mindless violence to give you the 'message'. The 'message' from this movie is beautiful and the poetry is mindblowing (especially the last poem). The acting is excellent throughout and the funny thing is that all the acting is natural and it seems like you are a watching a gritty documentary. (Look out for the jail riot and you will understand what I mean). A highly recommended movie, do not miss it.

• A Film Not Afraid to Tell the Truth

  drhym2001-09-03

  I happened upon Slam quite by coincidence one evening. I just got an updated cable system with all of these channels and movies and music. So I was surfing and I came upon Slam. I had no idea what it was. I had never heard of the movie before, but I was familiar with Saul Williams and his work. I had seen him on a documentary a few years ago. I thought the film was brilliant in the sense that it took a familiar topic and refreshed it. Slam was intense and real. It was preachy without being trite, redundant, cliche, or just plain corny. The actors were totally believable. I bought it. I bought it all, hook, line, and sinker. And in the end, that's all I can ask of a film, to take me somewhere I want to go, but haven't been before. This film was not afraid to tell the truth. And again, more importantly it was not afraid to also tell us that there are no easy solutions or easy roads out.