DC Movie Review: “Slam” (1998)

Syndicate

Walking through the SE neighborhood of Garfield Heights at 23^rd & Hartford Street, blocks away from the Seventh District Police Station, Raymond Joshua, played by now internationally known literary figure Saul Williams, is greeted by a large group of neighborhood children happy to see him.

When the ice cream truck arrives, Joshua, a hand-to-hand drug dealer, makes sure everyone gets what they want, even a child who insists, repeatedly, “I want chocolate!”

Sitting with the children outside of a garden style apartment building Joshua, a well-known street bard, encourages a young man known as “Lil’ Troy” to add to the two-line rhyme he shares.

The opening scene of 1998’s critically acclaimed Slam, awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the Sundance Film Festival, captures the city in a way that Hollywood’s historic portrayals, focused almost exclusively on political thrillers, never quite have.

“Slam brings a light to some of the issues that are very relevant to DC,” says Weusi Baraka, credited in the film for his short speaking role where he buys a bag of weed from Joshua.  Baraka was invited to the set by Williams, his cousin. His role in the film was improvised, as much of the film was, according to Baraka.

Slam, written and directed by Marc Levin, known for directing the HBO documentary “Thug Life in D.C.” and more recently producing the critically acclaimed HBO documentary miniseries about Newark, New Jersey, Brick City, tells the story of a young man trying to escape the restrictive confines of Lorton Correctional Complex through the power of the written word after being charged with drug possession while fleeing the scene of a shooting.

While in Lorton, Joshua is faced with the dilemma of joining, for protection, the “Union Crew,” led by Hopha, played by the well-known urban journalist Bonz Malone, or being attacked by a rival jail crew. In the prison recreation yard Joshua is approached by the leader of the rival crew and instead of fighting with his fists, he unleashes a verbal salvo that leaves fellow prisoners speechless.

“I forgot what I was thinking,” says Hopha as Joshua walks away unscathed from the awestruck crowd.

In the hallway back to his cell Joshua meets Lauren Bell, played by Sonja Sohn, known for her role in “The Wire” as Detective Greggs.  Bell, impressed by Joshua’s poetic performance in the yard, invites him to attend the poetry class she teaches to a small group of prisoners. In an emotional tour de force, Bell, holding back tears, tells her students that due to budget cut-backs, this will be her last class. After class Joshua talks with Bell, who, although intrigued by him, knows that his uncertain future is not something she wants to get involved with.

After Hopha posts Joshua’s bail, trusting him to deliver a message of non-violence to the community he will return to, he meets up with Bell who provides emotional support and introduces him to the local DC poetry scene despite his reservations and suspicions.

The film culminates in Joshua’s triumphant performance at a U Street open mic; Joshua then wanders the city at night with his future in doubt.

Capturing scenes of Eastern Market, U Street, the metro, and cameos by well-known DC figures such as Roach Brown as a public defender and Marion Barry as a judge who chastises Joshua for his involvement in the city’s drug trade, Slam is a raw representation of DC that deserves its recognition as a valuable film.