It’s taken me days to write this for reasons beyond still riding high off of the debut for The Force Awakens. Yes, I’ve begun my observation on Chi-Raq, the new film from auteur director Spike Lee, whose sensibilities are all over his latest foray in good ways and bad, by mentioning another film that you cannot escape. They are similar in another regard as Chi-Raq and the new Star Wars film’s plots involve desperate acts taken by people, most notably a young woman not held in much regard, who strive beyond the means society (theirs and ours) has cast them in.
But, I want to keep the emphasis on Chi-Raq.
If you have somehow escaped the whirlwind of controversy on this film, it is intended as a satirical film based around the heavy gun violence in present-day urban Chicago. The first bit of controversy comes in the key words of that sentence alone: satire and street violence. Is it too soon to be using irony and sarcasm to tackle such a hardcore topic? Many of the people criticizing the film think so, while others with a more cinematic background just don’t think it works story-wise. The other bit arises in Black women denying sex, and thus the physical bodies, as a means of curtailing their men to stop killing themselves, but more importantly countless innocents, in the streets.
I personally am caught in the middle. **LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD**
On a technical level, the film is masterful. Spike and cinematographer Matthew Libatique have hit their best collaborative stride since 2006’s Inside Man (they first worked together on She Hate Me (2004), and Libatique has since gone on to being highly sought after for his work on Black Swan, Iron Man and more) and the film’s editors, who have also worked with Spike prior to, have put together with their director a visually striking and even fun piece of filmmaking to view. Where it all falls apart, well, is in most everything else…except the actual plot.
Derived from the play Lysistrata, written by ancient Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes, Lysistrata wants the Peloponnesian War to end and persuades the other women of Athens and opposing warring faction Sparta to withhold sexual privileges from their men in order to stop the fighting. A battle among the sexes ensues between all men and women, and Lysistrata and her allies even take over the Acropolis in their efforts to be taken seriously – which they are. Chi-Raq follows this same story, with the lead character (played ably by Teyonah Parris) having the same name and agenda as the source material; other characters have Greek sounding names as well, including the narrator Dolmedes, played hysterically by Samuel L. Jackson.
Lysistrata herself is a fascinating character and Parris plays her as confident as she is vulnerable, as sexy as she is at first unsure of her actual worth beyond being a cog in a male-dominated society – sexually, socially and economically. Seeing her growth as a woman and a leader in the community and beyond, especially through the eyes of the heretofore-underrated Parris, is exciting. On paper, I’m sure her boyfriend Chi-Raq is fascinating as well. The biggest up-and-coming rapper in Chicago, Chi-Raq is also the leader of The Spartans, a huge gang in the area. Played by Nick Cannon, Chi-Raq comes off as a caricature of immature Black men, which isn’t strange for a movie intended as a satire, but he barely moves beyond that.
Barely anyone else does as well. Or maybe they’re taking themselves too seriously to.
Angela Basset plays community leader Miss Helen, whose counsel leads Lysistrata to her cause. Its obvious something traumatic from her past made her the strident woman she is today since half of what she says is that she was from the infamous Cabrini-Green projects. A similar course is followed by Jennifer Hudson’s (Dreamgirls) character, whose daughter’s death is the inciting incident for Lysistrata’s revolt (Hudson herself in real-life lost close family to gun violence just a few years ago). She is in pain, a pain I hope to never know, but her demeanor is strictly one-note. Meanwhile Wesley Snipes’ opposing gang leader Cyclops is pure parody, intentionally highly comedic, as is D.B. Sweeney (Heaven Is A Playground) as The Mayor and Steve Harris (The Practice) as leader of a venerable men’s lodge, bent of ending the “pussy strike” that has moved beyond the girlfriends and wives of the men in the gangs and into all Chicago women. The only ones who seem to understand they are in a satire are Lysistrata, the police commissioner played by Harry Lennix (easily the film’s top supporting character), and to some degree Roger Guenveur Smith’s insurance agent. None of them go strictly for laughs or full drama, but are filled with serious intent coupled by nuance and some tongue-in-cheek action.
And therein is the problem – the film seems to forget what it is. The comedy in certain scenes is broad, while other moments are heart achingly tender. Chi-Raq as a film does not need to be just one thing, and any Spike Lee film usually isn’t, yet this one has a an identity crisis. Is it indeed a satire? If so, is it a gun violence satire or a sex satire? Most moviegoers seem to think it’s the latter, but who knows? Finally, if the ending were not so soppy perhaps my apathy would differ, but its obvious and pretty annoying. Lee employed a satirical bent on Bamboozled (2000) to masterful heights, so I know he’s capable of more, which is exactly why I feel even more disappointed.
While I have beat up on the film, Chi-Raq is worth seeing. Even with the problems I laid out, it’s still much better than a lot of drivel that was released this year. Be prepared for characters to rhyme as they speak, as they did in certain Greek/classical meter, and for some great performances throughout, including from Dave Chappelle, singer Gina Breedlove, other Spike Lee movie regulars, and in Lysistrata’s army the widest variety of Black women that you’ll see on screen for perhaps the next five years.
Chi-Raq is still seen in theaters and on December 29th will be available for purchase On Demand, Digital HD, and on digital platforms such as Amazon, VUDU, Xbox, PlayStation, Google Play and others. On January 26, it will be available on Blu-Ray, Digital HD and DVD.
CHI-RAQ
120 mins.
directed by Spike Lee
with Teyonah Parris, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, D.B. Sweeney, and Samuel L. Jackson
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