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| Dope - Movie Premiere Poster - Open Road Films |
Dope is not your typical “coming
of age” film. Set in urban Los Angeles, the film stars some relatively unknown actors
yet manages to draw out performances that are both captivating and emotive. The
story revolves around Malcolm Adekanbi (Shameik Moore), a final year high
school student along with his two close friends who are soon to graduate.
Malcolm is an introvert and unlike other youths depicted in the film, he isn’t
involved in the violence and gangs that surround him. Instead he is indulged in
1990s hip-hop culture illustrated by the way he dresses and his musical taste. Throughout
the film he is portrayed as an intelligent student and his ambition is to
attend college at Harvard. He dismisses the discouragement of his careers
counsellor and hopes for a better future.
Through some poor circumstances
and decisions Malcolm is caught up in the middle of a drug deal and
unfortunately is forced into disposing drugs and giving the money to Mr Jacoby
who coincidentally is also the person who controls the outcome of Malcolm’s
application to Harvard. Through some
clever means, Malcolm and his friends’ setup business operations in the school,
using labs, lockers and their music room that no one in the school uses, for
storage and processing of the drugs. They also setup an online store and use
Bitcoin for its anonymity to sell these drugs on the online black-market. They
become an overnight success due to the drugs high demand at parties. As the
events take place in the film, the characters are pushed into corners and their
friendships between one another are tested.
A critical scene in the film that depicts just how desperate Malcolm becomes and how the situation he is forced into has distorted him is when he draws out a gun and points it directly at the street gang, to obtain the cash they withhold from him and to protect his friends.
The film does indeed have a
positive ending as Malcolm skillfully coerces Mr Jacoby to support his
application to Harvard. In his application, Malcolm consolidates his challenging
experiences and reflects on who he feels he is using the technique of dichotomy
and several metaphors. Throughout the film a key message is the notion that it
is ok to be different from the crowd you are around and that creatively getting
yourself out of a problem is possible. Another aspect of the film that is briefly
touched on is Malcolm’s relationship with Nakia (Zoë Kravitz), another student
that wants to separate herself from the harsh environment she lives in. This
really just adds more colour to Malcolm’s character and gives him space to open
up more emotionally to the audience.
Overall, I would say this film
is worth a watch. The humorous moments and the quirky characters captivated me
and this is reflected in my rating. =D
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| 4 Stars |
By Navin Ralhan
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