[yasr_overall_rating]
Upon his return from serving a ten-year sentence in prison, reformed gang leader, S. Lance Ingram, struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem.
During the first several scenes of “Chapter & Verse,” we know that S. Lance Ingram has recently been released from prison but we don’t exactly know the nature of his crime. I watched “Chapter & Verse” unfamiliar with any of the actors, including Daniel Beaty, who plays Ingram, and that really gave me the opportunity to really appreciate the film as more of a cinéma vérité than Ulu Grosbard’s 1978 film “Straight Time.” We are never really certain exactly what transpired in order to place Ingram in prison, but that backstory ends up not meaning much to the world of the film because Ingram is like many others who have been recently released from prison and struggling to adapt in Harlem.
Beaty is the soul of this film and I expect him to continue to shine in film appearances. He is a strong and subtle actor, which is a compliment that is often said by reviewers but not ever fully appreciated. Ingram never slips into melodrama and never once does it feel like Beaty is trying to communicate a message or spread a point. He just portrays how unbelievably difficult things would be in such a situation with great emotional precision. Larger conclusions are left to the audience. Beaty also wrote the script which suggests that he might also continue writing films of a quiet magnitude as well.
Ingram eventually gets an apartment and accepts a position delivering meals for a local food bank. Unable to readily work in the profession of electronics at which he excels, Ingram defeatedly accepts his job. Eventually, Ingram creates a relationship with Miss Maddy (Loretta Devine), who teaches Lance how to live in a deeply disturbed and troubled society.
The film is directed by Jamal Joseph, an extremely gifted man who is a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. He is a remarkably capable director and is not afraid to let the camera linger and is able to capture wonderfully, strong moments from actors. This is not a morality play but a study of Lance’s character and the adaptations that Lance must make in order to survive in the world outside of prison. As difficult as prison is, the life outside of prison is just as difficult. It is not the former prison that is evil or morally reprehensible, it is the world that refuses to offer him a place once he has served time for his punishment that is truly difficult. That is, a world that is capable, at times, of being a place of immense beauty. “Chapter & Verse” innately understands that in order to daylight, you sometimes have to kick at the darkness. The film has relevance for members of the audience who might not know anything about what types of struggles are faced by former convicts in Harlem. The fact that “Chapter & Verse” is able to draw us into this world, is the true measure of the success of the film.
In theaters Friday, February 3rd
