Charm City Kings

[StevePulaski]

Charm City Kings (2020)
Directed by: Angel Manuel Soto

Donielle Tremaine Hansley, Jahi Di'Allo Winston, and Kezii Curtis in Charm City Kings.

Rating: ★★★

Charm City Kings takes place in the cold streets of Baltimore where we come to know a 14-year-old boy everyone calls Mouse (Jahi Di'Allo Winston). Living with his single mother (Teyonah Parris) and still raw from the death of his older brother/mentor, Mouse spends his days with the hard-headed Lamont (Donielle T. Hansley Jr.) and the jovial Sweartagawd (Kezii Curtis), and is on the fast-track to be a veterinarian when he's older. Mouse, like his late brother, is attracted to the dirt-bike riders who dominate the inner-city streets of Baltimore, pushing the boundaries of laws and physics as they pop wheelies and skirt away from police in the knick of time.

The idol of Baltimore's bike community is an ex-con named Blax (Philly-born rapper Meek Mill), who decides to give Mouse an opportunity to fix bikes at his shop while offering insights into the culture. To the dismay of his overworked mother, Mouse turns away from his dreams of becoming a vet, even alienating Rivers (Will Catlett), a local detective who serves as a father-figure. The quick cash and exhilaration that comes from dirt-bikes is too tempting to an impressionable boy still finding out who he really is in this world. There's also Shay (Milan Ray), a new girl on the block who catches Mouse's eye and teaches him a little about photography.

The tropes are familiar, the fabric is a little worn, but Charm City Kings is a coming-of-age story cut from a cloth that still warms with its humanization of society's most marginalized. Put simply, it boasts the moral dichotomies seen in A Bronx Tale while lingering on a young man being molded by an experienced mentor ala The Karate Kid. While its narrative beats are recognizable, it pulsates with dramatic heft, elevated by its performers and emotional potency, particularly when it focuses on Mouse and Blax.

Jahi Di'Allo Winston is a wonderful find of an actor, who rises to the occasion in those emotional moments by being both natural and understated — never overplaying the tears when they're well-warranted. He's also plucky and likable, even when he's off doing bad things against the wishes of his family. Meek Mill is a looming presence although he's conservatively utilized. Similar to Sonny from A Bronx Tale or Juan in Moonlight, Blax's words stay with Mouse long after they're spoken. "Boys wait for other people, men go out and get it," Blax tells Mouse at one point, and our young protagonist sees this in action when his friends get disillusioned with Blax's shop, viewing it as nothing but busy-work keeping them from their hustle.

Moreover, Blax has done a lot of wrong in his life. He's bonded with numerous young men, many of whom we learn have died at the end of a loaded gun or other ambiguous yet tragic outcomes. With Mouse, things are different. He sees an opportunity to course-correct and teach him the right way to earn keep. Meek Mill delivers his sometimes cliché lines with gravitas, and everything from his mannerisms to his body language carries weight. A strong spitter in front of a mic, he's also a strong performer in front of a camera.

Distilling down its story structure, Charm City Kings sticks to the usual formula, which is evident as it sort of hurls itself towards an explosive climax that manages to feel somewhat extreme. Nonetheless, the subtle beats featuring unspoken dialog or small inclusions work exceptionally to define the mood — a testament to Angel Manuel Soto's careful hand. Consider the scene when Mouse's mom grills him for disobeying her multiple times. She's drinking out of a coffee mug that reads "Best Dad" in the same moment she's forced to play both roles in a single-parent household. Parris has another shining moment when she finally has enough of her insubordinate son and throws him out on the street.

Charm City Kings is elevated both by the delicate approach by Soto and the strength of its cast — even the supporting supporters such as Kezii Curtis and Milan Shay make the most of their moments. Coming-of-age predictability be damned. This is a frequently gripping exercise in humanization.

NOTE: Charm City Kings is now available to stream on HBO Max.

NOTE II: Check out my review of Charm City Kings on my web-show Sleepless with Steve. Catch the show Wednesday evenings at 8pm CST at twitch.tv/sleeplesswithsteve!

Starring: Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, Kezii Curtis, Will Catlett, Milan Shay, and Teyonah Parris. Directed by: Angel Manuel Soto.