Sundance 2016 – Sleight

Sleight sounded like a coming of age urban tale that I’ve seen before.  Following a young street magician Bo (Jacob Latimore) who takes care of his sister after his mother dies.  In order to make enough money for him and his sister to survive, Bo does magic in the day and sells drugs at night for Angelo (Dule Hill).  But when he gets into trouble with Angelo, his life is thrown into turmoil and he must use his magic and smarts to get out of the jam.

If you think you know where this movie is going, you couldn’t be more wrong.  Sleight starts off as a coming of age story very reminiscent to Dope (2014), but goes a direction I never thought this movie could.  This turns into a superhero origin story that feels like a ghetto Iron Man (2008) at the end.  I am usually not a fan of movies jumping from one genre to the next, especially when the two genres are as different as these.  But the absurdity of it all actually worked for me.  And as I think more and more about this movie, the more I see that it is as much a superhero origin story as any Marvel or DC movie.  Writer/director J.D. Dillard does a great job of keeping the story intriguing the whole movie hrough plot and characters.  He also uses special effects minimally, but effectively, giving us the wonder as if we were watching a real magician.

Jacob Latimore is superb as Bo.  He has a charisma about him that lights up the screen and has the potential to be a big star if he picks the right roles.  Seychelle Gabrielle adds strength to her role as Bo’s girlfriend Holly.  And Dule Hill is terrifyingly great as Angelo.  Angelo is a drug dealer who lives by a code of respect.  As long as you respect product and territory, you’re good.  But if you don’t, he can snap at any moment and cut your hand off.  I am a sucker for these kind of characters, and Hill, who’s known mostly for T.V. work in The West Wing and Psyche knocks it out the park.

Sleight is not without its flaws, but they are small ones that I can overlook.  This is a wildly inventive, well acted, crazy movie that captivates and leaves you stunned.

MY RATING – 3.5/4

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