A dreamy, elegiac vibe permeates Amman Abbasi’s debut feature, despite a story that focuses on a troubled boy’s induction into a street gang. The reason lies in the setting, which is not a teeming, crime-ridden city but rather the small Arkansas town where Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) lives. His parents are absent; his mother was driven mad by the apparent gang retribution death of Dayveon’s idolized older brother. Although he is cared for by his sister (Chasity Moore) and her good-natured boyfriend Bryan (Dontrell Bright), Dayveon is simmering with anger, contemptuously dismissing everything as worthless in stream-of-consciousness monologues that he delivers as he rides his bike aimlessly through the dusty landscape. Dayveon proves to be an easy target for recruitment by the local Bloods, and after a nasty beating welcoming him into the group, he is tested by its leaders in a couple of robberies, even as he and his friend Brayden (Kordell Johnson) spend the long, hot afternoons in meandering walks and offhanded target practice. The overriding question is whether Dayveon will succumb to the lure of gang life, with its promise of money and pleasure at the roadhouse where the Bloods hang out, or heed Bryan’s advice to not fall into the cycle of violence that has already claimed so many young black men. While Abbasi’s film is notable for its naturalistic style, and the performances carry an air of unaffected authenticity, the story ultimately follows an overly familiar trajectory. Still, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Dayveon
FilmRise, 76 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95 Volume 33, Issue 4
Dayveon
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