Sleight Has A Few Tricks, But Little Magic
04/28/2017 10:26 pm EDT
Some films can successfully play with the conventions of superhero movies and spin them into uniquely fun experiences, while others are not so successful at tampering with convention. Sleight falls somewhere in between: a novel attempt at a unique urban superhero story, that's never quite the sum of its mismatched (yet individually compelling) parts.
The story revolves around Bo (Jacob Latimore), a brilliant young LA kid whose life takes a hard turn when he loses both of his parents. Instead of college, Bo has to care for his younger sister Tina (Storm Reid), which he does by using his gifted mind to engineer and perform amazing street magic by day - while hustling drugs at night to make ends meet.
Bo's routine takes a dark turn when his employer, Angelo (Dulé Hill), coerces him into more violent and dangerous practices of the gangster life; on the flip side, Bo's lonely world gets a little brighter when he meets Holly (Seychelle Gabriel), a local shop worker with her own heavy life to bear. As Bo gets in deeper with his love, he also gets in deeper with the evil forces at his doorstep. But when his sister gets caught in the crosshairs, Bo must put all of his talent and "magic" to use in order to save her.
The new film from J.D. Dillard, Sleight is being described as "Chronicle meets Iron Man," but that's not quite accurate. The film is more like Breaking Bad meets Iron Man, which isn't the smart mix that it initially may seem like.
There's a lot of talent on display in Sleight: Young Jacob Latimore is a wonderfully nuanced performer, who makes a complex character like Bo utterly sympathetic and interesting - no matter which side of the moral line he's stumbling across. Meanwhile, Seychelle Gabriel is an equally charming and nuanced foil for Latimore as Holly, bringing real charm to the camera, which clearly loves to linger on her. Some TV stars also have nice breakout roles: SNL's Sasheer Zamata is surprisingly strong in the supporting role of Georgi, Bo's neighbor and confidant - while Psych star Dulé Hill steals every scene, playing suave psychopath drug kingpin, Angelo.
Where Sleight fails to achieve real magic is with its script, which was written by Dillard, and Intervention TV series writer, Alex Theurer. Sleight's story unfolds in three acts that feel distractingly disjointed and mismatched, as if they belong to three different movies. There's the indie drama/urban coming of age tale with a wonderful hint of mystery (Act I); then there's the intensely dark urban crime drama (Act II); and finally, there's the much-advertised superhero action film, which is what the majority of viewers are hoping to see.
As stated, Sleight never successfully unifies its various pieces - a sleight of hand trick that Rick Famuyiwa's Dope pulled off, to great effect. Instead, what we get is a testing ground showcase for a talented filmmaker, and some talented actors, but not something that's going to be the next genre movie breakout hit (like Chronicle). Definitely give it a watch if you've already been lured in by the film's intrigue; otherwise, Sleight is going to be a solid film to catch as a future binge watch.
Sleight is now playing in theaters. It is 1hour and 30 minutes and Rated R for language throughout, drug content and some violence.
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