PLOT: The fentanyl epidemic is examined from the views of a drug cop (James Badge Dale) in El Paso with an addicted son, a drug kingpin (Michael Mando), a hitman (Ben Foster) and his mom (Melissa Leo).
REVIEW: John Swab not too long ago made headlines when he was employed to direct the high-profile Will Smith Netflix film Quick and Free. Whereas it might appear to be the streamer is taking a danger by hiring a largely unknown director, the very fact is Swab has been spending the final decade making relatively good, low-budget films, together with Lengthy Gone Heroes (which our critic Tyler Nichols was a giant fan of) and his wonderful drug rehab drama Physique Brokers. However his newest, King Ivory, is probably going the one which landed him the gig directing Quick and Free, with this being one of the crucial potent crime pics I’ve seen since Shot Caller.
King Ivory premiered over a yr in the past on the Venice Movie Pageant, and it’s a disgrace the film hasn’t gotten extra consideration, because it’s actually a superb deep dive into the opioid epidemic ravaging a lot of North America (I’d wager that each one of us — in some kind or one other — have been touched by it). It takes the identical strategy as Steven Soderbergh’s Site visitors, however feels extra lifelike in the way in which it takes a darkish, unsentimental take a look at the epidemic. Notably, Swab has been open about being a former addict himself, and the film advantages enormously from the truth that he definitely is aware of the fabric inside and outside.
Not like Site visitors, there aren’t any actual good guys and unhealthy guys on this one — only a group of individuals doing what they should do to outlive. James Badge Dale’s Layne, an El Paso cop engaged on the drug element, may have simply been portrayed as an motion hero, however right here you see how he’s simply making an attempt to do his greatest even when he is aware of nothing he does can probably curtail the inflow of fentanyl (the road title for which is King Ivory). Making issues worse for him is the truth that his teenage son has his personal rising drug downside nobody is kind of certain how you can cope with. He’s not a lot a hero as only a common man doing his job. Equally, Michael Mando’s Ramón Garza, the pinnacle of the cartel Layne is making an attempt to trace down, is way from a Tony Montana-like monster. Whereas chilly and ruthless, he additionally has his moments of humanity, as like Layne, he’s actually simply doing a job, with maybe the place they had been born the one actual distinction between the 2 males.
Each Dale and Mando are wonderful, though the film is stolen by Ben Foster as a hitman named Smiley. Sporting a respiratory tube, together with his unassuming stature, he’s nonetheless portrayed as a born killer — even when he’s removed from a psychopath. The film spends a great period of time exhibiting his residence life, with him making an attempt to cope with a moronic, racist uncle (Ritchie Coster) who needs in on Smiley’s rise within the drug commerce — with him the favourite of an incarcerated kingpin, Holt (Graham Greene in one in every of his ultimate roles). He additionally has a loving mom, performed by Melissa Leo, whose expertise as a veterinary tech has her stitching up Mando’s Garza in a memorable scene. Regardless of the low finances, there are some strong set items, albeit accomplished in a stark, documentary-like vogue, with Swab seeming like he’s channeling administrators like William Friedkin or Sidney Lumet relatively than extra bombastic, fashionable administrators. It makes for a potent combine.
Hopefully, King Ivory’s strong evaluations get the movie seen by an appreciative viewers. It feels doomed to fly beneath the radar, however like Shot Caller, it may flip right into a cult movie as soon as it hits streaming. If it’s enjoying close to you I extremely advocate giving it a shot, because it’s one of many higher movies I’ve seen currently.
