Restless City
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Harlem Provides Gritty Backdrop for Super-Realistic Survival Saga
When Djbril (Sy Alassane) left his native Senegal
for the U.S.,
he harbored high hopes of making it as a musician. But while pursuing his
version of the elusive American Dream, the 21 year-old immigrant pays the rent by hustling bootlegged CDs and other assorted contraband on the street of lower
Manhattan.
Afterhours,
he retreats via moped to a rough side of Harlem
where the struggle for survival only intensifies. Uptown, Djbril’s Achilles
heel is exposed when he
takes an interest in pretty Trini (Sky Grey), the proverbial prostitute with a
heart of gold.
The knight in shining armor helps
the wayward woman find a legitimate line of work as a hairdresser. Unfortunately,
losing a productive ‘ho doesn’t sit well with her pimp, Bekay (Tony Okungbowa).
Complicating matters is the fact that the exploitative creep also happens to be
Djibril’s boss, which means it’s merely a matter of time before the situation triangulates
into an ugly confrontation over the fetching femme fatale.
That, in a nutshell is the perilous
plotline of Restless
City, a super-realistic,
slice-of-life saga marking the directorial debut of Andrew Dosunmu. The
Nigeria-born filmmaker is already well-known for his award-winning music video
work with such icons as Common, Wyclef Jean, Maxwell, Tracy Chapman, Aaron
Neville and the late Isaac Hayes.
Here, he makes a promising foray into
full-length features via a visually-captivating adventure which offers a
penetrating peek inside a vibrant community comprised primarily of African
expatriates. Though sabotaged at times by mood-setting pauses and some stilted
dialogue, Restless
City is still sufficiently
engaging to remain recommended for devotees of unsanitized dramatic fare bordering
on cinema verite.
Forget pimps, it’s apparently just
as hard out there for a street peddler.
Very Good
(2.5 stars)
Rated R for drug use and brief sexuality.
In English, French, Wolof and Yoruba with
subtitles.
Running time: 80 minutes
Distributor: AFFRM
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