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Lockdown
Movie Review: The film is about three best friends doing hard time in a New Mexico prison. Avery (Jones) is a promising swimmer that hoped to return to college on a scholarship. Dre (Bonds) is Avery's would be brother-in-law that has stayed clean of drugs for the past year. Cashmere (Casseus) is a small-time drug runner that believes he is more powerful that he actually is. After winning a competitive swim meet. Avery decides to go out with his two buddies rather than staying home with his girlfriend and baby boy. The three are pulled over and arrested for the murder of a fast food worker. The worker was in fact killed by Broadway (Fingaz), who is one of Cashmere's selfish drug runners. Broadway planted the murder weapon in Cashmere's car (which are both ironically white mustangs), so he could take over his drug ring. The three are all sentenced to prison and fulfill their sentence immediately. Not moments after arriving at the prison, the three go their own way in search of survival. Cashmere partners up with his drug boss and gang leader Cleanup (Master P). Dre is celled with a violent white supremacist that constantly beats and rapes him. Avery gets lucky and is celled with the old school prisoner Mal (Powell), who tries to teach him the ropes of survival. The friendship between the three is tested more than once while trying to survive prison life. Lockdown is sort of like watching a two-hour episode of HBO's Oz. The film is gritty, bloody, and has an underlying power to it. Though the story line is something that we have seen before (think Blood In, Blood Out (1993)), first time director John Luessenhop doesn't hold anything back. Luessenhop, who previously directed segments for America's Most Wanted, lets the audience get up close and personal with prison life in this film. What will be praised most about this film is its raw authenticity. Though some of Lussenhop's visuals are very violent and bloody, it is reflective of how prison is. It's obvious that Lussenhop is a first time feature director with his weak transitions and constant fade-outs. However, he and screenwriter Preston Whitmore II know what they wanted to capture with this film and they surely accomplished that. The characters are also not complex, but not too shallow to hurt the film either. The main character of the film is the prison itself, which is what Lussenhop centers his choices around. The acting cast of the film is composed of a pretty strong ensemble of known and young talent. Gabriel Casseus, Richard T. Jones, and De'Aundre Bonds are all proficient in each of their roles as the three best friends. Veterans Bill Nunn and Clifton Powell maintain balance with their characters as the film's mentors. Rapper and producer Master P delivers a striking performance as the cold and heartless gang leader Cleanup. Unfortunately, Lockdown is a film that runs true for one of its young star, De'Aundre Bonds, who played Dre. Bonds was arrested shortly after filming on Lockdown wrapped and is serving an 11-year sentence for murder. The full-story of what occurred is on the film's website, www.lockdownthemovie.com. Lockdown is nothing astonishing, but it is a drama that I believe deserves some attention. Like I said before, it mirrors many aspects of HBO's Oz, so if you don't have a strong stomach you might want to skip this one. However, I support this low budget project, mostly because it is authentic. The film's director and crew knew what they wanted to do, and they have gone out and done it. Report Card Grade: B- 02/17/03
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