Dope is the entertaining and dramatic slice of American life that doesn't often get show on screen, well not like this. Setting out to subvert expectations of what a film about black high school kids getting drawn into the drug trade in a poor suburb should look like, it gives us the story of Malcolm, brilliantly acted by Shameik Moore, who himself wants to subvert the expectations of those around him.
Dope is slickly and smartly made and manages to handle the sudden chops and changes between brilliant laugh out loud humour and deep and dark drama well. It has a message about expectations, stereotypes and racism, and for the most part delivers this by entwining the message into the fabric of an exciting and entertaining film, which gets the point across in an effective and engaging way, without making this feel like an earnest message film.
This is why I had quite a strong disappointed feeling with the one time the film seems to lose the courage of its convictions (not about the message but the means of delivery) towards the end. Although powerful in isolation, the short essay by Malcolm at the end, where he basically sets out in more simple terms what we have just absorbed through the film, sticks out like a sore thump. It is a poetic and forceful speech and I can understand why the film makers wanted to include it, but it feels a bit heavy handed after the energetic and assured way director Rick Famuyiwa handled the rest of the film.
It is forgivable that the other characters aren't particularly developed given how brilliant a character Malcolm is, and how well Moore portrays him. The film itself is a great combination of energetic and exciting film making, a cool soundtrack and forceful humour and I look forward to seeing what Moore and Famuyiwa do next.
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