Cinnamon (2023) | Tubi Original gives us an Indie Darling

"'Cinnamon' is the first movie in production under Tubi’s recently announced film deal with Village Roadshow Pictures, to produce multiple films from its 'Black Noir Cinema' initiative.

Inspired by classics like 'Shaft,' 'Super Fly' and 'Cleopatra Jones,' Black Noir Cinema, aims to adapt and redefine the Blaxploitation genre and translate its spirit of empowerment to a new generation of Black audiences." 

-UrbanBrigez.com 

Cinnamon (2023) is a Tubi Original Film directed by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. It Stars Hailey Kilgore (Jodi Jackson), David Iacono (Eddie), and Pam Grier (Mama).  

So a couple days ago I was scrolling through my email and I notice that Tubi and Letterboxd had gotten together and offered up a promotion to review the film for some sort of fancy smancy sweepstakes. Now two thoughts go through my head. 1. I am already very very tired because I have been working a ridicoulas amount at my dayjob so I probably shouldn't do this and 2. If I want to actually moon light as a film critic I should probably actually bite when bait is offered. 

So I sit down with a beer and popcorn and settle down to see what I expect to be an alright film all together because sees heres the deal. While I love Tubi and they have absolutely popped there pussy in terms of adding just an absolutely slutty amount of foreign and art films to there catalogue they also one of the few places that I can watch the most deranged STV microbudget disasterpieces. So when I think Tubi Original I'm expecting fun schlock. Sorry babes but thats your brand. Thats your vibe. 

I will say however thats not what I got. What I got was actually a really fun and enjoyable Festivle Film. It was stylish, it had fun characters, and it blended a lot of genres in a way that was both referential and hard to pin down. Its a film that while I can't say is a masterpiece was quite an enjoyable piece of indie cinema. but because I am a tired bitch, (please remember that I have been working for literally two weeks straight), I'm gonna try to give you a little sexy numbered list instead of organically going through the various aspects of the film like I usually do. 

1. The Plot

As the description reads this film pops off with a gas station robbery an event that will set the various and overlapping plots afoot. The film also makes the artistic choice of seperating its action into differnt chapters allowing it to explore the parralel characters actions and travel along the timeline. A stylistic choice that feels rather reminiscent of pulp fiction. 

I will say that while this film is entertaining and it flows quite well between its shots the plot itself doesn't hold up to a lot of scrutiny. Sure the main points make sense but the more you think about the logistics get even more confusing. 

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If the Walker brother regular picks up the drug drop at the gas station then why doesn't Jodi recognize him? Does Toni know shes a drug courier? Is every pizza a drug transaction? Is the Pizza guy in on it or is this between Toni and Ernest? Does Jodi miscarry? How the hell did Eddie survive a SHOTGUN BLAST TO THE FUCKING CHEST AND A FALL OUT OF A THIRD STORY WINDOW? 

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At the end of the day however I really don't care about the logistics of the film. The Twists the building up of character motivations, the general layout of the film is really enjoyable. Its a film that while not the most strongly written was entertaining and engaging and I find that to be a much more important metric to judge a film then whether or not it stands up to fridge logic. 

2. The Characters

First let me say that this cast is way too hot and also how do you write all bangers! What you make me like Toni? The constantly horny comic relief character? Bitch how???? Cause like she's on screen and I'm like "Yass queen we got a bad bitch right here" and I usually fucking hate comic relief characters. 

(please remember that I'm writing this after like a 10 hour shift)

But literally I fucking love every single one of these characters. Kilgore and Iacono are incredible cute together and for young actors they emote so well. Pam Grier is this deaf mute mob boss badass. Jay Johnson gives us layers to his performance and Jeremie Harris manages to be a very hot and very dangerous. 

I also rather enjoyed the acting. The film has a really strong cast and with that comes strong performances. I think that often times we assosciate a good performance with these big emotional lynchpin moments. Epic climaxes of screaming and tears and so on. But at the end of the day if your actor can't sit in the back seat of a car and cycle through a mix of emotions. If they can't look down and sheeplishly say they can't remember much from the robbery. if they can't be a little silly shaking a pair of maraccas. then whats the point of the big blowout emotion. There is a lot of subtle craft to the film and while this is not a film that desires extremly technical and dramatic acting I still think that there was a lot of effort and love put in by this cast. To play these characters as well as they possible can. 

3. The Production

I saw a few of the detractors say that they disliked the cinematography of the film. Calling it "Juvanile" and "Basic". TBH I have no idea what there on about. I don't know much about the work of cinematographer Ayinde Anderson but I can say that I really enjoyed a lot of the elements of this film visual. Anderson and Montgomery make a lot of distinctive stylistic choices that sell this film for me. Theres this repeating motif of the so-called "shyamalan shot", (eyelevel Closeup of the characters face staring straight at the camera), which frames the characters over and over again during critical moments of the film. Which I fucking like because once again this cast is hot as shit. Um yes I do want to see Jeremie Harris point a shotgun at me in this beautiful painterly shot. Because I'm a SIMP. 

There are other stylistic elemtents that they employ in places, jump cuts between the scene and the memories and reconstructions of the characters. Its a style that feels more align with arthouse and indie cinema then neccesarily the kind of more conventional utilitarian filmmaking that I'm used to with other films within the Blaxplotation genre. (TBC I mean like the something along the lines of Friday Foster (1975) not Sweet Sweetbacks Badassssss Song (1971)). 

I will say however that while this film has a kind of indie trapping to it, it also manages to capture its violence in a sensibile and viseral way which can be a differcult task in its self. This film manages to have its 90s indiecore cake and eat its blaxplotation action pieces too. 

The other elements of its production are also well down. This film is advertised as music-driven and the soundtrack does indeed slap and overall the production value is rather competant. I remember on my first to find the compostition on some of the font work to be a bit poor but after we watching the seens I was thinking of I think I was just being a bit nitpicky. 

4. The Aestetic

So the last thing that I have to talk about is of course the aestetic trappings of the film. This is a spiritual Blaxplotation film or at least thats what it says on paper. 

For me personally as a rather big fan of the subgenre it doesn't quite hit that itch for me. This feels more like an 90s indie rom-com that just so happens to involve a crime subplot but also I am way to white to be the grand arbitrator of what is considered a Blaxplotation film. 

This is a black-led crime film and that can enough for some people. 

That being said while this film doesn't FEEL, (once again to me someone who is incredible white), like a 70s blaxplotation film there are a lot of elements that tie into that theming. 

Blaxplotation is rather camp in a lot of ways. Its characters that are so stylished that they almost become parodies of themselves. I'm sorry your characters named "Sheba Baby", Like thats her legal name OK. And shes beating up this hive talking pimp in a car wash. Aight. Ok, now shes talking to some black panthers who literally look like they came out of a CIA propaganda pamplet. Makes sense. 

What I'm saying is that Blaxplotation is camp blackness. Its Hyperreality. Just like the way that gay communities where leaning into these fetishitic ideals of queer masculinity so to is a lot of blaxplotation redifining ideas of blackness. Its not meant to be real its meant to be stylish. 

And this film gives us a taste of that. The crime family in this film are a group named the walkers who all have a western theme. Like there all dressed up like literally cowboys. Its a serve don't get me wrong. Its giving Django Unchained realness hunty. We once again and loving the black western renaissance and honestly that is very blaxplotation of them. thats definetly some shit they would be doing in the 70s. 

Pam Grier also has this very tarentino-esque thing where she'll flip up one of her sun glass covers to indicate whether or not somebody should die and that is really cool. 

Theres a lot of these little stylistic elements that just really work for the film and make it a fun time. I like a stylish movie. Bitch I love a film festival vibe and this movie gives it. 

CONCLUSION

At the End of the Day, Cinnamon is an film that evokes the work of Tarentino and early wes anderson much more then the works of Jack Hill and Mario Von Peeble. Its not a perfect film, clearly this director is still within his growing period of defining his style. But its a nice ride and good showing for the first feature film of a nascent director.