Sundance 2017 – Dayveon

Dayveon tells the story of Dayveon (Devin Blackmon), a 13-year-old boy who, after the death of his brother, joins a gang in Little Rock, Arkansas and learns about the brotherhood and violence of gang life.

One of the best things about coming to Sundance is seeing movies that expose me to different parts of life.  Whether it takes me to another country, or shows me inner workings of other cities across the U.S., Sundance always broadens my mind to different cultures and issues.  Dayveon is one of those movies.  Never before have I thought about gang life in Little Rock, which is what made this movie so interesting.  We see Dayveon go through the initiation of “getting jumped” into the gang, and then the brotherhood of the gang.  These aren’t the flashy gangsters you see on T.V. and in music videos.  These are D-grade gangsters who go after $300 scores by robbing small convenient stores and local crap games while driving beat up cars.  Yet, Dayveon wants to be in this gang because his brother was and he is honoring him, even if his heart isn’t 100% in it.  It is an interesting look at becoming a product of your environment and honoring the family name.

The performances in the movie are incredibly authentic and uniformly excellent.  None of these actors have previous acting experience.  These are just Little Rock natives acting in a story they know.  Blackmon carries the movie the movie as Dayveon.  He doesn’t have a lot of dialog, but his facial expressions show his confusion and love for the gang.  I was really impressed by Dontrell Bright as the boyfriend of Dayveon’s sister.  A towering presence, Bright acts as a fatherly figure for Daveyon and scolds him for joining the gang, yet understands what he is going through.  It is one of my favorite performances of the festival so far and will more than likely last until then end.

Though it drags a little and has some odd symbolism, Daveyon shows the possibilities of micro-budget film.  Director Amman Abbasi took a cast of nobodies, an interesting story, and deep, relatable themes and made a good movie on no budget.  This is an impressive feat for any Sundance movie.

MY RATING – 3/4

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