
Whenever I see Luis Guzmán on the screen, I am assured that the time spent is never wasted. This is why, for his first feature, co-writer and director Torres Aristotle begins many steps ahead of indies. Whilst Guzmán, who plays the part of Luis Torres in this movie, is somewhat of a wise but troubled character, he is also the central figure of the movie which essentially serves as an ‘escape’ story. The name shared by the director and co-writer leaves room for speculation regarding how much of the film is autobiographical and the answer, Guzmán already has now.
The heavily built, 35-year-old Kadir Grayson may seem young, but when we’re first introduced to him, his physique makes him look deep set in thought. This reminds me of the way he and a few other directors float in certain scenes in Spike Lee’s movies. Torres has risen the visual metaphor to a completely different height by cutting to a shot of Kadir’s sock covered feet, which he has aimlessly lifted above the floor of the hallway in his apartment. But the movie soon comes to reveal that Kadir does not float in sheer ecstasy. Compared to the rest of his life, Kadir is now more lost than ever before.
His favorite brother is dead. His mother is in a deep depression. Do you recall the Lynyrd Skynyrd track, ‘All I Can Do Is Write’? All Kadir can do is write about things rather than draw off with them in his notebooks and spray paint all over walls. Kadir’s best friend’s older brother “Skemes” (Melvin Gregg) is a so-called street royalty with a name, who is in control of a tagging crew, ‘Outside the Lines,’ that has a deadly feud with another gang, ‘VHS’. Skemes is against Kadir trying to get validation and assistance anywhere that is outside the limited box of their life. Later on in the film Kadir will encounter some becomes artists that knew Skemes when he was the pioneer; the one who “had cops AND galleries banging his door for attention.” But nowadays Skemes tells Kadir to instead of focus on benefiting from the tourist attraction that destroyed their culture, they should be celebrating the culture that was a scar for them.
But Skemes has some odd methodological ideas on how Kadir should do that. He lends out his automatic to the kid and tells him to prove his courage by going after and robbing some locals. And then bring back their IDs, credit cards, and other important items.
Kadir, a character played exceptionally well by Asante Black, is quite abrasive throughout the story and is, in no way, a stickup kid. His second would be victim, Guzman’s character, seems to know this. He is surprisingly generous when responding to being held up. He treats Kadir to a meal, introduces him to another young artist, and shares wisdom surrounding artistry with compassion.
“Story Ave” thoroughly portrays an artist as an escapees of ethics who does not quite come of age. The combination of intensely personal and universally accessible details makes this unique tale of story bolus. Kadir’s nightmares were especially terrifying, as they were some of the most vivid scenes. Along the line, Kadir seeks the realization that the greatest challenge he must face is the deep seated bitterness he needs to set aside. In the same spirit, Guzman appears on screen, seemingly effortlessly delivering powerful storyline while portraying comedic, sage, and saddening effects.
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