Drumline

Its show time - and you watch this film for its rhythm. But there is more to the story than just hand-eye coordination. It portrays a path for young African American men to achieve a life and success while bypassing the call of street gangs and quick drug money. Its a significant and real ethnic issue. Just look at their inordinate population in our prisons. And the other personal sociological lesson buried in the story line is the recognition that there is still work to do even if you are a special case.

Talent, good looks, genius or wealthy parents can be just as challenging as a disadvantaged background to a young person becoming an adult and the protagonist in this plot must deal with two of these, growing up with an absentee father and the ability to capture and reproduce percussion like an idiot savant.

The venue for this action is the drum corps boot camp environment at A & T College. The screenwriter, Shawn Schepps, does a nice job with the language and relationships between the young men, or dogs as they refer to themselves. The aggressive, in-your-face behaviors of young men are demonstrated but nicely contained. She also weaves the growing process for the protagonist, Devon, into the lives of his drumline leader, Sean, and the band director, Dr. Lee so we see them forced into a maturity of their own as a result of Devons talent and attitude. Schepps has had ten acting roles herself, seven in films and she has directed three films.

The two lead actors are in their early twenties. Nick Cannon, who plays Devon Miles, began his career in the TV series, All of That (1995) and then composed and produced his own TV show. This was his third film. He played the MIB autopsy agent in Men in Black II (2002). Zoe Saldana plays Laila, Devons love interest. Her parents are Dominican and she returned to the Dominican Republic to study ballet. This was her fifth film.

Orlando Jones plays the band director, Dr. Lee. Although Jones began his acting career twenty years ago, his film work has been all in the last five years. It includes roles in Office Space (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Replacements (2000), Bedazzled (2000) and The Time Machine (2002). Leonard Roberts, who plays Sean, the drumline leader has also had film roles during the last five years, but is four years younger. He played Forrest Gates in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1999-2000 and he gained twenty pounds to play Joe Louis in the TV production Joe and Max (2002).

Good screenplay plot points are used albeit a well worn coming of age and romance story line. The musical work by the bands is terrific both during practices and in the performances. And the show time arrangements particularly at the end of the film are spectacular. This applies as well to the cheer leaders who perform more like a modern dance group.

This is a polished production with routinely good camera work. But watch the early shot of images in the train windows passing behind Devon on the platform, a metaphor for the life that could have passed him by.

Reviewed May 11, 2003