A invaluable complement to the latest “Sing Sing” and its spiritually affirming story about how applications like Rehabilitation By means of the Arts have lowered recidivism charges by treating prisoners like human beings, Rashad Frett’s “Ricky” is a hard-knocks drama about one of many numerous American males who have been by no means given that very same probability. A sophisticated story with out a notably endearing hero to root for, the movie displays the punitive nature of the post-prison system in a rustic the place former inmates are denied any help of their pursuit of a greater future after they’re launched from jail.
For 30-year-old Ricky Smith (Stephan James), life as a free man in Hartford, Connecticut is even tougher than he feared. Contemporary out of jail after serving 15 years behind bars — a full half of his time on Earth — for theft and tried homicide, Ricky finds that his previous lingers over each impediment he faces on the surface. He’s greater than a decade late to his first crack at unsupervised maturity, and any sort of stability is proving virtually unattainable to maintain.
There’s a motive why Ricky usually mutters to himself that it is perhaps “higher inside than out.” In jail, the one residence he’s ever often known as an grownup, each day was comparatively the identical. The surface world is significantly extra chaotic, and the educational curve is mighty steep: Ricky has to discover a job, hold that job, be taught to drive, get a automobile, get a driver’s license, constantly go to group conferences with former felons, and present as much as conferences along with his parole officer (a fierce Sheryl Lee Ralph), all whereas staying away from medication and avoiding contact with the individuals he met in jail. Fail to fulfill any of those situations, and Ricky is perhaps locked up once more.
Returning to his childhood residence and dwelling along with his mom (Simbi Kali), Ricky endeavors to re-establish himself within the Caribbean American group he left as a teen. The specter of recidivism hangs over his head like a darkish cloud, exerting itself on Ricky’s thoughts and physique alike — the anxiousness usually expressed itself in uncontrollable shaking. He’s like a teen who stays confined to a grown man’s physique, unable to regulate the exterior elements that introduced him to this second in his life as he tries to restore his relationship along with his mom whereas making an attempt a romantic reference to a younger single mom (Imani Lewis) who lets Ricky minimize her son’s hair — a talent he picked up whereas in jail.
Ricky should discover ways to set his personal schedule, one thing the continually late and infrequently apologetic man can’t appear to get a deal with on. He begs for jobs from outdated acquaintances, however sustaining them is a problem. Regardless of turning into a whiz at slicing hair, he can’t appear to ascertain himself as a barber. Regardless of his parole officer’s quite a few warnings and a number of possibilities, life has a means of catching up with a felon who hasn’t been given even the smallest of head-starts.
This all-too-familiar premise may lend itself to melodrama, however “Ricky” emerges as a marvelously understated examination of 1 man’s battle to realize stability. Frett and Lin Que Ayoung’s nuanced script mines wealthy specifics from the tropes of its story, because the movie delves into Hartford’s Caribbean American group with the identical consideration to element that it explores post-prison life and the specter of recidivism. Quaking with the identical depth of the person that it follows, Sam Motamedi’s handheld digicam viscerally physicalizes Ricky’s frustration with out ever betraying the unvarnished actuality of his circumstances.
These circumstances quickly give rise to an identification disaster that displays Ricky’s stunted adolescence. It’s all within the identify, which sounds an increasing number of like a holdover from childhood each time his parole officer refers to him as Ricardo, or a possible employer defaults to calling him Rick. The person behind the identify might not be in jail, however “Ricky” is a jail of its personal. And whereas it was unambiguously a jail of its personal making, Frett’s movie is much less involved along with his pursuit of redemption than it’s with a system that’s designed to forestall any hope of ahead motion.
And but, James endows Ricky with such a deep bedrock of humanity that something appears doable, even because the character’s errors grow to be more and more exasperating as they begin to compound (viewers may really feel compelled to achieve via the display screen and set an alarm clock for Ricky in a determined bid to assist hold him on schedule). Stoicism personified earlier than the cracks start to indicate, James layers Ricky filled with worry and fervor, his efficiency by no means extra nuanced or alive than it’s within the moments the place the actor is compelled to navigate each of these emotions without delay, reminiscent of he’s within the scene the place he has intercourse post-prison for the primary time. Frett holds a close-up of James’ face, the actor revealing his character’s teenage vulnerability with an all-encompassing realness.
“Ricky” is a private story for Frett, a Hartford native whose realizing and lived-in debut has been deeply knowledgeable by the experiences of individuals he is aware of from residence. It’s a strong introduction to Frett’s skill behind the digicam, and a needed post-script to movies like “Sing Sing” for its sincere pursuit of hope and humanity in a system that’s designed to extinguish them each.
Grade: A-
“Ricky” premiered on the 2025 Sundance Movie Competition. It’s presently looking for U.S. distribution.
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