In Baltimore, among the city’s Black community, the sounds of dirt bikes echo down the streets, through the alleys, backyards, and by bedroom windows. Baltimore is more than riots and more than extralegal oppression: the underprivileged and people of color know this much. There are good, happy days just as much as tragedies. But neither negates the systematic abuse suffered nor the perilous environment. Angel Manuel Soto’s “Charm City Kings”—following a group of motorbike riders, a world-first seen in Lotfy Nathan’s documentary “12 O’Clock Boys”—attunes itself as a powerful coming of age story expressing freedom and danger, love and grief, and the pitfalls of childhood heroes.
READ MORE: Here Are Our Most Anticipated Films from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival
Among “Charm City Kings’” three main characters: Mouse (Jahil Di’Allo Winston, an absolute find); Lamont (Donielle T. Hansley Jr.); and Sweatagawd (Kezil Curtis), Mouse operates as the emotional center. An 8th grader, he still mourns the death of his older brother. His brother was once a member of the Midnight Clique, a biker gang that dominates the area. And Mouse considers them to be gods. In fact, all he wants is to be just like them—to feel their freedom and autonomy— because, in Baltimore, there’s a no-chase policy. That is, when a biker is a rider, the police cannot pursue. Consequently, Mouse craves his own bike. But for all of his idolization of these specific gang members, he is a sweet person. He works as an assistant to a veterinarian and cares about animals.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Movies Of 2020 We’ve Already Seen
Mouse has partly been spared his brother’s fate because of the authority figures in his life. Detective Rivers (William Catlett), once a school mentor, now looks out for him. In some sense, he operates as a father figure, much to the disdain of Mouse. There’s also his mother (Teyonah Parris) working around the clock as a nurse. But ultimately, he gravitates toward Blax (Meek Mill, who is affecting and dramatic), a former leader of the Midnight Clique now on parole. Trying to atone for his past life, he takes the boy under his wing, allowing him to construct a bike from spare parts. Moreover, Blax gives a three-dimensional impression of gang leaders, former or otherwise, contrary to the typical caricatures in pop culture.
READ MORE: 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2020
“Charm City Kings” imbues these boys—Mouse, Lamont, and Sweatagawd—with innocence, humanistically deconstructing the negative archetypes of urban Blacks. To these ends, Winston, Hansley Jr., and Curtis deliver phenomenal performances, especially as each respective boy drifts into their own path. In the first portion, the most innocent, Curtis’ comedic timing sets the lighthearted mood. While in the latter half, Lamont’s stinging anger provides the heat to the film’s more violent scenes. Furthermore, there’s the burgeoning relationship between Mouse and Nicki (Chandler DuPont), a new girl in the city. Their adolescent love exemplifies the unscratched depths of Mouse, especially the poetic fashion he describes dirt bike riding.
READ MORE: 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020
Nevertheless, Mouse’s homelife soon upends that tone. His mom can barely pay the bills, and when the nexus of his mother struggling and the aura he wraps around the Midnight Clique converge, Mouse falls into disarray. He yearns to become a man. But his definition of a man, “aggressive, violent, and unafraid, and stoic” are toxic, marked by the standards of his environment. He grows closer to Queen (Lakeyria Doughty) and Jamal (Pacino Braxton), the leaders of the gang. Moreover, Queen and Jamal represent Soto’s drive for authenticity, as they’re actually former bikers and first-time actors.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 You Didn’t See
Soto’s path to reality and immersion extends to “Charm City Kings’” crafts. The cinematography from Katelin Arizmendi absolutely suspends the movie. She provides potency to the film’s many chase sequences through overhead and tracking shots, bringing these moments into intimate detail. In each night shot, as the glow of streetlights reflects off Black skin, we’re brought closer to their freedom, the excitement that arrives as they glide across roads. The needle drops mixed with lush compositions, many of the scenes relying on a bevy of extras, fully populate this environment. In fact, “The Ride”—the night many bring their bikes to parade—is a joyful expression of freedom. People BBQ and goad the riders, and the camera envelops every pattern of this thriving community.
The ability to be who you want, where you want, eventually drives Mouse into a myriad of questionable decisions that threaten his bright future. Soto pitches the suspense to speeds so high that they tip back, their front wheel hanging, hanging above their weight, somehow never crashing down. By the conclusion of “Charm City Kings,” skid marks trace around the heart like blood crawling through your veins. “Charm City Kings” is beautiful and important, unabashedly Black, yet rarely traumatic, and almost always a determined statement. Soto has crafted an incredible empathetic narrative, one mile of road at a time. [A]
Follow along for all of our coverage from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival here.