You can find art in the strangest places. And as odd as it seems to set a fictional film about contemporary poetry behind bars, "Slam" does just that — and pulls it off quite nicely.
In fact, this surprisingly powerful drama is laden with similar strains of irony, from the dual meaning of the film's title (which refers to both jail and poetry competitions), to its harsh, almost mocking examinations of life in urban Washington, D.C., as well as the city's criminal justice system.
The film and its maker, Marc Levin, also deserve credit for taking a much more intelligent approach to the urban drama genre and for bringing performance artists Saul Williams and Sonja Sohn to the big screen.
Williams stars as Ray Joshua, a small-time drug trafficker and would-be rapper who is caught running from the scene of a shooting. To his horror, he's given some unappealing alternatives: plead guilty and spend two years in prison, fight the charge and possibly face a 10-year sentence.
While he weighs his options, Ray spends time in lockdown, where he's faced with even more choices, such as joining a gang to save his life. To everyone's surprise, though, he goes it alone and faces the gangs down in the courtyard by performing a heartfelt, rap-styled poem for them.
That performance impresses one of the jail's gang leaders, Hopha (Bonz Malone), who helps him make bail. It also helps win over Lauren Bell (Sohn), a social worker who encourages him to perform in public and turn his back on his past.
Ironically, some of the movie's strengths are its weaknesses as well. Levin, a documentary filmmaker, shot it in a pseudo-documentary style — such as use of glaring close-ups and "shaky-cam" work — which can be a real distraction.
He also gives his actors free rein to improvise, which means that some of the scenes ramble on too long. There are also a series of odd bits that don't seem to belong, such as the scene with two cops singing doo-wop style and a cameo by former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry as a by-the-book judge.
But Williams is a warm, winning presence, as are Sohn and Malone, and the material is done in such an ambitious, well-meaning way that those feel like minor complaints.
"Slam" is rated R for rampant profanity and use of racial epithets, violent fist-fighting and some gunplay, full male and some female nudity, simulated sex, gore, drug use (marijuana) and use of some vulgar slang terms.