by Morgan Rojas/Cinemacy.com
In a place where your shoes determine your status, you better believe that everyone will be doing whatever it takes to get their hands on the latest kicks. Some will spend every last penny of their hard-earned cash on a brand new pair of shoes, while others will literally steal them off the feet of a child. It’s a jungle out there in the Bay Area, or so Justin Tipping leads us to believe, in his directorial debut “Kicks,” an urban coming-of-age film loosely based on Tipping’s experience growing up in West Oakland, where the unfairness of life seems unwavering and survival means learning how to stand up for yourself.
Brandon (Jahking Guillory) is convinced that a better pair of shoes will lead to a better life, and when he finally scores a brand new pair of rare Air Jordans, he couldn’t be happier. He gets attention from girls and respect from his friends, Rico (Christopher Meyer) and Albert (Christopher Jordan Wallace, son of Notorious B.I.G.), but best of all, he escapes the reality of his impoverished life in Oakland. That is, until notorious local thug, Flaco (Kofi Siriboe), takes the shoes right off of his feet. But Brandon is not one to go down without a fight and, after enlisting his very hesitant friends, they set out to retrieve the stolen sneakers and teach Flaco a thing or two about messing with their crew.
There is no denying that “Kicks” will draw comparisons to other recent films, like this summer’s release “The Land” or last year’s Sundance hit “Dope,” but what “Kicks” offers in terms of variation are the surreal fever dreams that visit Brandon throughout the course of the film. His thoughts of escaping his reality and finding serenity become embodied in an astronaut that follows his character, much like a guardian angel. These pops of surreal visual effects are sprinkled throughout the film’s overall hyper-naturalistic aesthetic, and the result is a beautiful achievement. Yes, all three films have killer soundtracks (“Kicks” enlists some heavyweight performers like Wu-Tang Clan, RJD2, and Charles Bradley) and share similar thematic threads of a young boy on a mission to get out of the ghetto. But it is the passion Brandon exudes over one pair of shoes, his only pair of shoes, that makes his story much more empathetic.
That said, the film does drag at times, mostly during the astronaut scenes. The slow motion dreamlike quality is transfixing, but the amount of these repetitive moments caused my eyes to glaze over. Jahking Guillory gives a solid performance as Brandon, his internal struggles always at the forefront of his demeanor. However, he plays the character a bit too quiet and mysterious at times, leaving the audience wondering if he’s feeling any emotion at all. Supporting actors Dante and Donté Clark, likely new to the acting scene, are fantastic as Brandon’s stoner cousins. Their carefree attitude and recklessness combined with their love for the family make them some of the film’s most interesting supporting characters.
“Kicks” is a Cinderella story for a new generation, one in which a boy’s transformation happens when he loses his shoes rather than slips his feet into them at the end. When “Kicks” is able to find the right balance between narrative emotion and spectacle, the result is one powerful piece of work.
“Kicks” is rated R for violence, drug/alcohol use and language throughout, and sexual content – involving teens. 80 minutes. Opening in select theaters on Friday, September 9
