The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 07, 1994, HOMECOMING EDITION, Page 8, Image 8
I
'Jason's Lyi
LIGHTSOAMgftARE ACTION
STEPHEN BROWN Staff Writer
JASON'S LYRIC
it-kit (out of four stars)
Director Doug McHenry^ new film "Jason's Lyric"
is an update of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" transplanted
into the modern-day inner city with an all-black
? * n o o x i. _ i 3
cast, ana it explores tnemes 01 ianiasy, iaie, iove aim
sacrifice.
Because the central romance of the film is the relationship
between Jason and Lyric, the title at first glance
appears contrived (like "Poetic Justice" about a poet
named Justice). But the title itself captures one of the
film's most splendid scenes, when the lovers escape the
decaying ghetto for some passionate moments beside
the bayou in the nearby wilderness. Lyric tells Jason
to be completely silent, and the two listen to the music
of nature as she relaxes him into a fantasy world they
know can only last a moment. Their unbridled ecsta100
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tines, when the music is a false front to tensions and
turmoil.
Jason (Allen Payne) works at an appliance store and
desperately wants to flee his tough urban lifestyle. He
is bound by his strong sense of family obligation, however,
to take care of his mother, who has suffered tremendously,
and his ex-con younger brother, Josh (Bokeem
Woodbine), who is heading down the fast track to nowhere.
Jason is haunted by the ghosts of his past, especially
by the memory of an attack on his family during his
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tic' has rhyr
childhood when he and his brother had to take up arms ii
against a deranged character named Mad Dog (Forrest
Whitaker) who tore the family apart. The fits of rage r
Jason observed early in life prompt him to take re- P
sponsibility for his own actions but manifest in a cycli- r
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cai pattern wiininaosn, wno cannot get over ma uuu- t
bled past. g
Lyric (Jada Rnkett), a waitress at a soul food restau- c
rant who Jason meets at his store, watches the buses e
go by from her perch upon a bridge on the outskirts of s
the city. She dreams of boarding one and leaving the t
world she has known, and one day the love-struck Jason
drives up in one of these buses he has rented to take t
her off to a special place. t
? As the idyllic love story unfolds, Josh comes between r
Jason and Lyric. Using liquor as a tonic "like garlic to s
keep the ghosts away," Josh spirals out of control like i
the madman of his childhood. A "jack" of all trades (car- ?
jacking, hijacking and even bank-jacking), Josh finds c
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Crew, a gang of scoundrels headed by Lyric's brother, j
The theme of star-crossed lovers is developed through c
language, imagery and escalating circumstances be- i
yond the characters' control that lead to a tempest of 1
rage and release. (
The issue of fate and its control over peoples' lives <
is injected through dialogue and ironic twists in the sto- ]
ryline. "If it's meant to be, youH find me," says Lyric in
her first encounter with Jason. Later, she describes her <
fascination with the buses and how "It's great, not know~r
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ne, reason
ng where it's going."
Unlike other Shakespearean updates like the sureal
"My Own Private Idaho" and the abysmal "Men of
tespect," "Jason's Lyric" is firmly grounded in modern
eality and engages the viewer in the nightmares and
antasies of the characters involved. The characters are
rivon full rUmemsinns anH (with t.hfi exr.ention of obvi
ius poetics) speak in the language of today. Uncertain
ibout Lyric's intentions, Jason complains, "One minute
he's dissin' me, and the next minute she's showing me
hings I've never seen before!"
The actors convey a sense of hurt and hope as they
ry to make amends for the emotional wounds they still
>ear. First time director McHenry demonstrates a comnand
for the dramatic film as he juxtaposes his simple
itoryline with layers of metaphor and striking cinenatography.
His sex scenes, toned down to qualify for
in NC-17 rating, are restrained but match the burning
lesires of the characters. Thejieauty of the broken city
plded by the rising sun and the haunting flashbacks of
i childhood raped by rage are two of his most effective
levices. His heavy-handed insistence on including too
nany mixed symbols in the material causes the film to
ose some of its overall luster, however. And a miscal:ulated
sense of timing in one of the final sequences
:auses confusion and undercuts the impact of an imaortant
moment.
Overall, "Jason's Lyric" is a well-executed romantic
irama that explores deeply the moments that move us.
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Now Playing in
Friday, October 7t
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. . _ use Dance Company
Visionaries
The USC Dance Company presents "Visions of Dance"
at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday
at Drayton Hall. [
; =? S tarting Oct. 9 at 6pm your
Saturday Nights will change
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I Nq We look forward to seeing you
every saiurday Nigh!.
( ? jrJL jm Coming Saturday, November 6 I
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