Director: Sheldon Candis
Cast: Common. Michael Rainey Jr, Danny Glover, Dennis Haysbert
Running Time: 95 min
Synopsis: Over the course of one day, a shy 13-year-old forms a bond with his troubled uncle.
LUV, according to the Urban Dictionary means ‘A casual way of saying you really like someone without freaking them out by saying I love you. Commonly used by people early on in relationships, where it is too soon to say I love you. Luv may develop into love but it is not love.’ I thought that it one simply one of those terrible text things ‘u use t shortn msgs.’ Something I’m clearly not used to or indeed any good at. Something that really quite annoys me. LOL.
The phrase ‘luv’ is applied to this film as potentially the bond between rapper turned actor Common’s Vincent, and his young nephew Woody, played by Michael Rainey Jr. The film kicks off with 13-year-old Woody awaking in his grandmother’s house in Baltimore on a normal school day. We see that there is no mother figure present, and that in some way Vincent, said mother’s brother, and said grandmother’s son, are living in the same abode. For whatever reason, Woody is taken out of school for the day, and is taken upon a journey of sampling just indeed how his ‘unc’ takes care of bidness on the streets.
Let’s kick off with the positives. I like this kind of film usually, and it was actually reasonably entertaining to sit through. The two central performances, particularly from the young Rainey Jr are excellent, and to a large degree hold the film together. Common is turning into quite a talent, emerging from the hip-hop scene and developing his acting chops in a similar way to Ice Cube all of those years ago, from his NWA days through to that superb performance in John Singleton’s BOYZ N’ THE HOOD. However, you could say that this role would be more comparable to one that Denzel Washington may have tackled twenty years ago. Echoes of TRAINING DAY are apparent despite an extremely different narrative.
Common also co-produces Sheldon Candis’ debut feature, from a script also by Candis. It boasts stellar supporting performances from Dennis Haysbert, and a very underused Danny Glover, and runs at a tight ninety-ish minutes. All good stuff, but what I struggled with to certain degree was a mish-mash of tone throughout, a lack of emotional engagement with the two leads, and lack of caring for what happened to either of them. As I stated before Danny Glover, an actor with immense talent is very underused, with a screen time whittled down to just a few scenes. There are also a few issues with realism; like the kid driving(?), handling a weapon and his reaction to some of the stuff that he witnesses over the course of that day. Some of it comes across as preposterous an I found myself shuffling in my seat, shaking my head in reaction to some of the scenes. The action seems a little rushed in places, and I will add to this, and please stop reading if you do not want a slight spoiler revealed, that for such a small amount of money needed to resolve an outstanding debt, $21,000 I recall, why didn’t just he sell the car?
Taking that aside, out of all of the films that I have seen at Sundance London, this ranks near the top. It’s an enjoyable fare, and unlike some of the other movies playing at the festival, it is almost guaranteed to find an audience. Full of great performances as I said, including one from Charles S. Dutton (remember him from ALIEN 3), very good direction, editing and cinematography, but all from a fairly average script.
I liked this film, I just didn’t LUV it. Sorry.
LUV was reviewed at the 2012 Sundance Film and Music Festival and will be released in the UK late 2012.
