CHARM CITY KINGS (2020)
Charm City Kings Review: A coming-of-age film set in Baltimore.
Meek Mill stands out amongst a superb ensemble cast in his role as Blax.
Angel Manuel Soto’s film “Charm City Kings” is the dramatic interpretation of “12 O’Clock Boys”. “12 O’Clock Boys” was the 2013 Documentary showcasing Baltimore’s urban dirt-bike scene. The urban dirt bike scene is prevalent in many cities but has particularly strong roots in Baltimore. In high-crime, low-income neighborhoods this subculture gives its participants a rare bright light in otherwise bleak surroundings. Legendary rider Steve Honda tells The Guardian that urban dirt-biking saved his life.
The Sundance film “Charm City Kings” centers around a youthful trio in Baltimore and their interest in the local dirt bike event “The Ride”. The Ride is an important event that provides entertainment and inspiration to the Baltimore neighborhood. Mouse (the film’s protagonist played by Jahi Di'Allo Winston) wants to be a part of the legendary Midnight Clique. Blax (Meek Mill) is thought of like the Michael Jordan of the Baltimore bike scene. Blax takes Mouse under his wing after seeing him around the shop and teaches him how to build dirt bikes for racing.
In an interview with the LA TIMES, producer Caleeb Pinkett explains that he knew the importance of casting actual dirt bike riders. Pinkett says that Mill “represents the bike world with an authenticity” that was essential to telling the story correctly. Mill grew up riding dirt-bikes on the streets of Philadelphia. Much like his character “Blax”, Mill was released from prison just in time to film the movie. Though set in Baltimore, the role of Blax seems like a natural fit for Mill. Soto says that “Meek Mill truly is Blax”, so he was the ideal person to play this character.
Mill’s real-life legal saga closely mirrors his character in the film. Just before he began filming, his decade-long court case was finally thrown out. One of the movie’s main themes is over-policing in low-income urban communities. Mill’s own experience shows the inequities in law enforcement that some face. Mill was sentenced to 2+ years in prison for a probation violation when he rode a dirt bike in New York. I’ll repeat that. A judge wanted him locked up for 2-4 years for riding a fucking dirt bike. The case was finally thrown out due to active participation from high-profile people in the entertainment business and Mill’s hometown of Philadelphia. But many people aren’t as lucky. The film does a great job of making us empathize with Blax, seeing how much heart he has while mentoring Mouse.
The movie is also effective in making you care about the three protagonists. They are funny, smart, motivated, and full of potential. You can feel pure joy in Mouse when Blax teaches him how to maintain and ride dirt bikes. They also grow up in an area where bad opportunities present themselves more often than good ones. Mouse and his friends get caught in age-old teenage angst when interests begin to change and you are faced with growing up too quickly. Soto knows the all too familiar choices that adolescents make as they become young adults. And that many of them try to grow up too damn fast. The director describes this dilemma as the defining moment in a lot of people’s lives in marginalized communities. When they must choose between the temptations of the streets or a slower path to success. It’s hard not to want to scream at the TV screen as you see all-too-familiar mistakes being made.
In an interview with Screen Rant, the Puerto Rican director Soto explains why he made the film. Despite being set in Baltimore, Soto felt that he was telling the story of his childhood or at least a parallel version. He explains that what “drew him to this story was that it represented much of what he went through in his childhood in marginalized, or even vilified or criminalized communities”. He wanted to tell the story a bit differently than the standard “cautionary tale” to make the film more unique. And he stressed that they wanted to highlight the children’s humanity and not exploit them.
It’s a classic coming-of-age tale and it’s mostly successful. The film doesn’t stray far from the genre’s familiar themes but doesn’t necessarily have to. The Baltimore vernacular is on display in a fantastic performance from Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Mouse. Meek Mill is successfully understated as Blax. As an actor, Meek pulls off a veteran-caliber performance. There’s a level of comfort he plays his role with that feels very real (see also: STREETS) He has an ability to convey strong emotions without over-dramatizing them. The rest of the cast is believable and mostly very likable in their various roles. Kezii Curtis and Teyonah Parris give particularly strong performances.
The film did have some issues. The story felt familiar, the dialogue at times felt drawn out. And at over two hours it felt a little long. But the acting, setting, and cinematography were enough to make this well worth watching. If you’re in the mood to learn about an underreported subculture led by some fantastic performances including rapper Meek Mill, you should watch “Charm City Kings”, currently available on HBO Max.