Set after Hurricane Katrina, four boyhood friends out of options reluctantly accept an offer to pull off a dangerous heist in the heart of New Orleans.
Crime films always tend to moralize in big swings as a heavy-handed way to glamorize violence while driving home the central point: crime doesn’t pay. No matter what happens, whether it’s “Goodfellas” or “Empire,” we get to live vicariously through these characters and still witness their downfalls. It surprises me then, that popular rhetoric around crime frame it as a choice. Talking heads spend hours describing how poor decision-making created crime and if people would only “just choose better” there might be less death and destruction in the world. “Cut Throat City” is sick of that. RZA’s third feature film to direct sees him taking aim at the world of post-Katrina New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Its elaborate storytelling leaves breathing room for its protagonists to suffer while still accommodating big personality characters. It swerves between myth and reality, blending the two into a kaleidoscope of sympathy for almost everyone involved. “Cut Throat City” swings for the fences in its two-hour runtime, allotting for mood and atmosphere and reaches a much more nuanced depiction of crime as a result of systemic oppression and civic corruption.
Shameik Moore plays Blink, a wannabe comic artist, turned down on his luck after Katrina nearly decimates his neighborhood. Together with his three friends Miracle (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), Junior (Keean Johnson), and Andre (Denzel Whitaker), resolve to rob a casino at the behest of Cousin Bass (played chillingly by T.I.). Of course, the robbery goes wrong. The boys go on the lamb. It so happens Cousin Bass is lower on the totem pole than they thought and soon larger forces are at play. Ethan Hawke pontificates as a policeman-turned-councilmember Jackson Symms, looking to do one good deed on this earth. Rob Morgan’s Courtney and Terrence Howard’s ‘The Saint’ occupy a mythic character’s space on the opposite end of the spectrum from Moore and co.
This movie speaks with eloquence and rhythm as its protagonists outline their struggle. At every step we’re made to wonder: How can anyone in their position NOT rob a bank or scream at the world? It seems even the antagonists feel for their foes. The Saint asks them why they would want to return to such a broken world like the Lower Ninth Ward. Even Cousin, the demon at the center of the movie, offers what little pity he has to offer. That’s what this movie does so well. It sympathizes. Its dialogue comes off the tongue like liquid fire, but even after dressing it up so well we’re left with nothing but sympathy for each of these characters. Yes, some actors are hamming it up/having fun, but it adds up to a sum total of utter devastation.
I’m a huge fan of Moore, whose sky has no limits. I’d imagine having RZA’s name attached to this project drew the remaining cameo talent: Terrence Howard, Ethan Hawke, Rob Morgan, and the infamous Wesley Snipes. They all deliver pitch-perfect performances. T.I. drips with ooze and menace in an impressive accent. The mechanics of the film can be a little cringe-inducing when it approaches its more cartoonish characters, but its sheer force of will carries you along.
New Orleans is a hard city to get right on film, and “Cut Throat City” nails it. I say that because audiences are accustomed to the usual touchstones: Bourbon Street, cheesy witch doctors, jazz parades, Mardi Gras beads. This movie eschews all that nonsense for a more grounded approach: hazy casinos all over the highway, local Laundromats turned bodegas, palm-tree filled medians, stony cemeteries with towering mausoleum, and uniform housing projects. You can feel the distinction of New Orleans by comparing the French architecture of Hawke’s councilman house versus the trailer-homes of Blink and his friends. It delivers on a much more grounded portrayal of this world than previously considered, in a way that can rarely be seen.
RZA’s learned nuance with his third film and marries it to his fantastical approach to filmmaking. “Man with the Iron Fists” was mythmaking, big personalities, and gonzo stunts in homage to the martial arts films of his youth. “Cut Throat City” utilizes that pageantry from time to time to impressive effect (every scene with Terrence Howard for example), but every time RZA seems to fly away, he comes back down. He hones back in on Blink, the exploitation of the black community in New Orleans, the hopes and dreams of each character. This endorsement of nuance means the movie drags on longer and indulges in more character-driven scenes but it’s exactly that kind of nuance that makes it feel richer.
“Cut Throat City” comes off as a simple crime film, but delivers on some quality messaging regarding the post-Katrina treatment of New Orleans. Every actor is firing on all pistons and any moment wasted is forgiven by the complexities at play. I loved it. I’m sure fans of action and violence will love it. I recommend to fans of the crime movies and fans of the RZA. It’s a true gem, marking a milestone in the careers of everyone involved.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD October 20th
