"Chi-Raq" - Review

WAKE UP

Samuel L. Jackson as the crassest Greek muse you have ever seen in Chi-Raq

"Chi-Raq" is a rather controversial nickname for the city of Chicago. Where does it get this name? It comes from many influential people noting that the number of deaths per year in Chicago surpass the number of deaths of American soldiers in Iraq since 2001. The amount of violence in Chicago is absolutely shocking and absurd and it only becomes fuel for many hate filled politicians and public figures when it is noted that the majority of this violence is completely within the black community in the south side. Black vs. black. When the trailer for Amazon Studio's first film acquisition was dropped in November, it baffled nearly everyone who saw it. It appeared as though the notorious Spike Lee was making a topic that is incredibly serious and tragic into a comic affair; farce rather than indictment. Nitpicking continued when many people criticized Lee for not being "Chicago born", notably growing up in Brooklyn for most of his life. This has led to quite the pummeling from audiences on sites like IMDB and Metacritic, despite many of them not having even seen the film.

Chi-Raq has finally graduated from its limited theatrical release to its permanent home on the streaming Amazon Prime platform, as well as DVD and blu-ray so I finally had the chance to see it and form my own thoughts. After seeing the film in all of its angry and unhinged glory, I now know that the criticisms are completely unfounded and that the film has been unfairly maligned and judged.



Chi-Raq is an incredibly bold piece of film-making from the regularly controversial artist Spike Lee that tackles nearly every social anxiety filled topic that you can imagine in one large stroke. This is already quite the task, but Spike Lee takes it one step further by exploring the topic of gun violence and murders in "Chi-Raq" Chicago by making his film a modern adaptation of the ancient Aristophanes Greek play Lysistrata and by having all of the actor's dialogue be presented in profanity-laden old style prose. Add in some musical numbers and some some occasional wacky humor intermixed into the devastating and emotional drama at its core and you have a crazy concoction of a film that fires at all cylinders.

It can be hard to accurately portray social outrage in a film and convey a clear stance on particular issues. Spike Lee has had this problem in the past with his messages being muddled and unclear. This did not help his public statements either, many dismissing him as unreasonable. Chi-Raq is his best film in years mainly due to its sheer ambition and creativity. This is the most original film that you will find from 2015 and most likely the most creative from a directorial standpoint, Lee tackles so many issues in this one film that a more inexperienced director could have been easily swamped by this scope. Here, Lee succeeds by ultimately addressing this multitude of issues with a simple response: WAKE UP.

Loosely following the narrative beats of the aforementioned Lysistrata, Chi-Raq is ultimately a fantasy film in many ways, telling the story of two separate gangs in Chicago and the violence they inflict on each other due to sheer pride and arrogance. This violence has casualties that reach beyond the men fighting each other. This becomes clear when a child is struck by a stray bullet. This is the final straw for Lysistrata, who is described by our Greek muse as the most beautiful lady in the city.
She decides in this moment of tragedy that if the men were not going to stop their senseless fighting, the women needed to step up and take their power back from them by taking away the thing they love the most: sex. Lysistrata starts a strike with all the women in "Chi-Raq" that takes the world by storm and causes a large amount of unrest among the citizens of their beloved but broken city as the consequences of gun violence finally gets the attention it has needed for many years.

I absolutely loved the first half of this film. There are moments of tremendous heartbreak and loss that are so palpable that you can nearly feel the tears flowing from the grieving characters. This is balanced well with the tasteful humor that comes from the format of the film and its dialogue that is completely in rhyming verse. It is a completely inspired choice to retain this element from the original play as it translates incredibly well to the culture that is presented, especially with its hip hop influences. It sounds like if Shakespeare learned how to rap. It works completely well and lends some wickedly raunchy and witty humor. Samuel L. Jackson in particular is gut-bustin
gly hilarious as the fourth wall breaking narrator whose charisma is put to perfect use.

The performances here, especially by Teyonah Parris and Jennifer Hudson, are effective and devastating. Parris steals every scene she is in and is an absolute movie star. Hudson gives the movie most of its heart as the grieving mother crying over her lost child. Nick Cannon also surprises with a layered performance that is very welcome, giving us a character who is flawed but conflicted about his role in the violent world he inhabits. John Cusack delivers a showstopping performance as the preacher of the "Chi-Raq" church in a lengthy scene featuring a sermon that is sure to get you out of your seat and riled up. It is quite possibly the greatest moment in John Cusack's career. It is a truly powerful scene.

It is when the film transitions into its second half that I feel as though something was lost after the sheer power of the first half. This is the point in the film where is delves more into the over the top elements of the original Greek play, but in a more modern context. It is also where there is more of an emphasis on the goofy humor that rather shockingly breaks the tension that was set up before. I still thoroughly enjoyed this section of the film. Spike Lee is able to create a sort of wishful fantasy where

he imagines how peace can finally be achieved in the world and it is very silly and entertaining. It feels like a different film than before however and the transition into these sections is abrupt and uneven. It comes back together in the end though with a very powerful conclusion where you can feel Lee's sorrow and anger finally spill over the tipping point and come out into the audience with a poignant urgency and earnestness.

As a whole, this is definitely an uneven film as far as its tone is concerned. Its sharp transitions from raunchy humor and emotional drama will surely be a bit much for many regular audiences. However, the sheer mad brilliance of its presentation makes up for these short comings and makes this a piece of art that is essential viewing. Love it or hate it, it is something that needs to be seen. It calls out names, takes no prisoners, and will be a provocative conversation starter for quite some time. Chi-Raq is a refreshingly original epic that is terribly sad and bitingly funny. It is a call to action that must be answered in some form or another.

Grade: A-.

Chi-Raq is now available on DVD and blu-ray as well as streaming platforms.