Rating: NR | Runtime: 106 minutes
Release Date: September 29th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Kino Lorber
Director(s): Aristotle Torres
Writer(s): Aristotle Torres & Bonsu Thompson

How much of your problems are your fault?

Art as commodity will always be a debate. I got it when I started art school as a graphic designer with the “fine art” majors looking down at us as sellouts. You have it in cinema now with the dynamic between art and “content.” And it has always existed simply in the reality that most great art needs a patron—whether beforehand to commission or afterwards to buy. The trick is finding a way to use that necessity to deliver your truth rather than allowing it to exploit your talent to give itself a platform instead.

That duality exists in street art too and Aristotle Torres’ Story Ave presents it in all its complexity by both putting that world and culture on-screen and by allowing its lead character (Asante Blackk’s Kadir) to find his identity through it even if that means he must extract himself from being within it. Add the psychological and emotional drama of needing to come to this conclusion on the heels of his younger brother’s untimely death and at the foot of applying for colleges and it’s not so hard to see how he might end up losing himself in the process.

Because we are most susceptible to coercion when we are most vulnerable. Kadir blames himself for Malik’s death and can’t escape the nightmares or the unfortunate reality that his mother’s grief blinds her from realizing she blames him too. So, he craves a new place to feel wanted. A new family. And Skemes (Melvin Gregg) provides it with his OTL crew—a collective he and Skemes’ brother Moe (Alex R. Hibbert) have wanted to join since they were little boys. But that world is more than “vandalism” or art. It’s a life dictated by territory and violence.

So, everything hinges on the fight between nature and nurture inside Kadir’s psyche. Will he take Skemes’ gun and rob unsuspecting strangers to add to the gang’s reputation and bankroll? Will he be able to pull the trigger if things go awry? As fate would have it, he won’t have to answer quite yet thanks to his first target being a man with nothing to lose and empathy to spare (Luis Guzmán’s Luis). But giving Kadir an out and outlet now might have come too late. And Torres and co-writer Bonsu Thompson are unafraid to let these characters prove as much by placing them on the precarious line between self-discovery and self-destruction.

It’s a riveting narrative with authentically drawn mirrors to show Kadir that he’s not alone. Whereas that truth can supply him a window towards a brighter future, it can also reveal a perpetual struggle. Luis is haunted by many of the same feelings and has been unable to fully escape them. Gloria (Coral Peña) is a fellow artist who has chosen a path that embraces the commodification of her message, perhaps at the detriment of that message. And Moe is all-in with OTL to the point of being willing to forfeit his life to the cause. Are they victims of circumstance? Sure. But that doesn’t negate the fact they also made a choice.

We therefore watch to see whether Kadir makes the same one or if he uses their lessons to carve his own path. It’s a phenomenal performance by Blackk. He’s put through the wringer and portrays the pain of it in a way that makes us unsure of what side of the line he’ll land on by the end. And Guzmán has never been better. Funny. Soulful. Troubled. His character’s desire to help is as much about redemption as it is a backslide into volatile patterns since, at a certain point, his actions pivot from centering Kadir’s needs to focusing solely on his own.

The path forward is powerful and far from easy since Kadir will need to forsake one facet of his life for the other regardless of his choice. This isn’t therefore about compromise. As Skemes’ life exemplifies: you can’t do both. Kadir’s talent is unquestionable (Jasmin “Hera” Siddiqui is the real artist behind his gorgeous on-screen work). Whether it’s used to make him a street prophet risking his freedom each day or to provide him an escape and future is solely up to him.

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Asante Blackk and Luis Guzmán in STORY AVE; courtesy of Kino Lorber.