A riveting prison drama that takes place after time in prison.
“Ricky” was the last film I watched virtually from the Sundance Film Festival last year, and this year, I was given another look of it. And I should remind you that it’s a near powerful movie that reminds me a little of the spirits in 2024’s prison drama “Sing Sing.” I know this takes place after prison, but somehow I nearly felt the same magic. It’s more about life outside prison and what comes out of it. It’s about people, and how they handle their own realities.
Stephan James plays Ricardo “Ricky” Smith, an ex-con who has just been released from prison after 15 years for a store robbery gone wrong. That’s right. He was convicted when he was a teenager. He’s now 30-years-old, and he has a lot to deal with. He needs a steady job, he needs to attend support groups, and he needs to overcome the demons within himself. But previously being a teenager in prison with adults, how can he? And as he’s told at the support group meetings: “When we get locked up, our families get locked up, too.”
Among the terrific co-stars, Sheryl Lee Ralph plays his Jamaican parole officer Joanne, who warns him to be careful with his choices, but believes in him. Sean Nelson (the break-out star of “Fresh”) plays his old childhood buddy Terrance, who left him at the scene of the crime. Andrene Ward-Hammond (Sinners,” “Loving”) as another parole named Cheryl, who becomes interested in him. Maliq Johnson plays his younger brother James. Titus Welliver plays a war vet named Leslie Torino, who agrees to sell him his Gran Torino, if he comes up with the money (a little Clint Eastwood throwback of sorts if you will, except he’s been meaning to get rid of it). And he doesn’t even have a driver’s license at this point. Imani Lewis plays a single mom named Jaz. And Simbi Kali (“3rd Rock from the Sun”) plays Ricky’s mother who is a stern woman, but is also partly responsible for his life choices.
“Ricky” is based on the short film written and directed by the same man Rashad Frett, and with co-writer Lin Que Ayoung (“Cracked,” “The Dreamer”), he expends the film with complexity and emotions. Even when some moments aren’t completely understandable, this is certainly much more affective than the Sandra Bullock Netflix vehicle “The Unforgivable,” because it doesn’t succumb to too many cliches and it allows us to acknowledge the main ex-convict and his environment following his sentence. The pathos here is real and consistent, as we feel the pain and our brains are burning.
James gives one of his best performances, following his character’s challenges and grasping with his emotions. Ward-Hammond delivers her dialogue with the right kind of passion. And Ralph is exceptional as the main parole officer, who actually believes in the kid. I love how she says: “This is not going to be easy, but you can do it,” because she says it with the right beat and motivation. And the rest of that scene, you have to see to believe. The movie is also photographed with the right colors by Sam Motamedi, who gives it a bright look, and the music is poetic and vibrant with the right scenes.
This is one of the most entertaining film the Sundance Film Festival has screened, and I was hoping the right studio backs it up. Blue Harbor Entertainment is the distributor, while Oesstra Films and Spark Features are among the production companies. It’s a shame that it’s not getting more appeal, because this has a story to tell and a character to meet. It could have, at least, gone to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. But they had to show crappy films like “Thrash” and “Balls Up.”
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