Luv (2012)

Expectations

I haven't really watched a "black movie" in awhile. I want to support the actors and actresses doing good things on behalf of the community I belong to, but I also will not support watching caricatures presented in Hollywood as gospel. It does nothing to advance the race and people outside of cities never get a chance to understand who we are and the struggles we go through. So in the Netflix indie category I found Luv and decided it was time to try again.

So, according to IMDb:

An 11-year-old boy gets a crash course in what it means to be a man when he spends a day with the ex-convict uncle he idolizes.

In a Nutshell

The film takes place in Baltimore, Md and starts with a young boy -- Woody (Michael Rainey, Jr.) -- going through his morning routine with a bit of a voice over. He then goes down for breakfast with his grandmother (Lonette McKee) and Uncle Vincent (Common). Within the first five minutes you start to understand the world you are about to be immerse in: 

• Vincent is recently out of jail. 
• The paper Vincent's reading tells of a gangland rivalry heating up and becoming deadly.
• Woody idolizes his cool "Unc". 
• Woody's mother is in North Carolina, for reasons we don't know, but can speculate are because she's dealing with personal issues. 
• Woody's grandmother is getting too old to take care of him. 
• Vincent, now out of jail is looking to get a loan and start a business; he doesn't want to be beholden to a boss, but run things himself.

Vincent is a loving but hard-edged uncle. He jokes with his nephew and asks him questions about his life (and the world at-large since he was away eight years), but expects Woody to be a man. Unafraid, proper disposition, and good with the ladies. Vincent takes Woody to school and upon Woody posturing about "shorties" he "hollas at" and then not being man enough to talk to the cutest girl at school, Vincent drives off. He tells Woody not to lie to him and that they would hang together today so that he can teach him how to be a man and how to handle business. Woody becomes Vincent's shadow.

This journey begins mild enough with trips to a tailor and visiting an old friend (Charles S. Dutton) to get a fake ID, which he then takes to a bank. Vincent is hoping to refinance his mother's house so that he can open a crab shack on the harbor. Good music. Great vibe. Upon hearing from the bank manager that the house is leverage up to its eyes and needs a payment of $22,000 before Monday to stay foreclosure, Vincent starts making moves. He begins to re-enter a circle of friends he had left behind for jail.

He goes to see Mr. Fish (Dennis Haysbert) for the initial money to pay the house down. He's not home, but his older brother Arthur (Danny Glover) tells where he can be found. It's obviously Fish runs things. Legit and illegal. Before Fish will even think about helping Vincent, he expects him to do a run for him like back in the day. Vincent's determined to make this happen and agrees. This movie then descents into Vincent exposing his nephew to this drug world. Picking up the drugs, almost being killed making a drop off, old rivalries with guys who wonder how he got out of jail 12 years early.Through all this Vincent takes time out to teach Woody how to shoot a gun, drive a car, and to not wear skinny jeans too tight so he can "protect his balls".  

I really don't want to give away too much because I want to encourage everyone to see it. No spoilers from me.

I will say this, Woody's last lesson in this movie is about how to crack a crab. Having lived in Northern Virginia most of my life and having family in Maryland. I have indulged in crabs every summer since I was five. Cracking crab is a lesson that not just a man should know, but everyone.

Extras

Throughout this movie it's easy to get caught up in Vincent and his story, but don't. This is a coming-of-age tale for Woody. You have to remember to see things from his eyes. As an 11-year old boy, people often talk over him or not at all. You won't get all the answers, because Woody doesn't have all the answers.

While the ending came a little fast, hard and leaving me with questions about these characters, I really loved this movie. All the acting was brilliant. There were moments when actors were truly distraught and I was too. The ending leaves a little to be desired, but you can't always tie endings into a neat package.

As for this being a "black movie", I don't want to condescend and put this movie into a box it doesn't deserve. This a great movie with a black cast. I do wish it weren't told around the tale of drugs and gangs, however, everyone needs their story told. For someone out there, I have no doubt this is their story -- if not slightly fictionalized. These characters weren't over written or over acted. The presence of some of the smaller roles wasn't embellished to make this world seem more dangerous. Quite the opposite. I believe the danger was embellished by the quiet that was used.