Sleight - Magia

"Sleight" brings the story of Bo. As the movie opens, someone is leaving a voice mail message for Bo, expressing sorrow for the passing of Bo's mom. We then jump "One Year Later". Bo is doing various magic tricks for money. During one of those street performances, he meets Holly. We also get to know Bo's little sister Tina, whom he cares for. But then we find out that Bo is also selling drugs as part of a drug gang headed by Angelo. It's not long before Bo is in way way over his head. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the debut feature length movie of writer-director J.D. Dillard. Dillard does a wonderful job mixing two genres (drug drama, magic tricks) in a story that is quite original in its approach. "Anyone can do a trick, but I am a magician", comments Bo to Holly. I have no idea whether the magic we see in the movie is even possible, or whether it's all jut part of the story but not realistic. All I can say is that it looked quite good. The movie is helped enormously by the charming performances of the two leads: Jacob Latimore as Bo, and Seychelle Gabriel as Holly. Surely we will hear more from them! Last but certainly not least, there is a great electronic score from Charles Scott IV, which I intend to check out at some point.

"Sleight" opened to positive acclaim at last year's Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it has taken so long for the movie to be released in theaters, but better late than never. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay but not great. That said, keeping in mind the movie's production budget was a mere $250,000 (peanuts in Hollywood terms), the movie has grossed many times that amount. If you are in the mood for a different type of "drug crime" movie that comes with a healthy twist of magic, you cannot go wrong with this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Sleigh" is highly recommended!

The movie started out fairly well with a engineering decent background for Bo, with his technical skills causing him to go to dangerous depths to better his street magic and provide for his sister. The conflict with the drugs and gangs is decently executed and the acting is good, but they really should've focused more on the actual "tricks" rather than ending with such super powered/fantastical flair.

Sleight is not a random gangster movie, because the main character is kind of special, he can do magic tricks. And he is really good.

Well that's it. His passion is not really well-used in the plot, so it really feels anecdotal.

I always wonder why he bothers doing magic tricks when he needs money. He must be making much more money with selling drugs. I'm not sure it makes sense.

The shots around his magic tricks makes the movie special, but it goes old real quick, after 30mn. Then we forget about it, to go back to magic half-an-hour afterwards. There's a big issue in the writing. The is not enough events to keep the plot interesting after 30mn.

So yeah it's original, and well-acted, but a sad lack of structure. And the mysterious ending feels pretentious for a movie that is not cleverly constructed. It doesn't really work.

OK, this is one of those movies where the lead character is a likable victim. He is shy and reserved but gets pulled into drama and makes bad choices, the anti-hero. BUT he is played as a HERO. If you disagree, you are racist?! This kid forgoes a college scholarship to take care of his baby sister (I guess he couldn't do that in college). SO, then he becomes a drug dealer. Then he becomes a violent felon. Then he betrays a close friend for money. And on and on. But we are supposed to pull for him. He lies and steals and carries a gun into a crime and ...... not a hero. Sorry -- don't feel sorry for the lifetime victim. Get a job, son.

"Sleight" had SO much potential. The magic sequences were entertaining. The performances were believable, and the characters had time to develop. The tone was set from the beginning to be tense, and the buildup was incredible. The film would keep making you think the girl would be kidnapped throughout the film, but when it finally happens, it cheaps out BIG time. All the subtleties are suddenly exaggerated. Things got silly all at the last moments of the film. The climax was boring. There was no sense of urgency anymore. The tone just INSTANTLY changes. Is this supposed to be epic? Am I supposed to be laughing? I didn't know anymore, and it didn't help that everyone's performances got goofy. The trailers were trying to sell this film as some sort of urban superhero tale, but since it took so long to get to the kidnapping, they had to cram all the heroics in at the last minute, thus wasting all the time they took developing everything including my time. What an absolute disappointment.