Gordon Williams, Contributor

Steve ‘Tehut-Nine’ McAlpin of Tehut-Nine Pictures, producers of ‘Bashment’. - Contributed

ATLANTA, Georgia:

Moviegoers in Jamaica will have to wait a bit longer before sampling one of the most gripping films depicting the street life of ‘yard’ people in the United States.

The local release of Bashment: The Fork In the Road, an action-drama made by Jamaicans which premiered earlier this year in the U.S., was originally scheduled for islandwide release next month. But, according to the film-makers, that date has been changed following the recent announcement of Jamaica’s general elections for August 27.

“We were set for a release at all the theatres in Jamaica. That was to take place August 29,” said Steve ‘Tehut-Nine’ McAlpin, the 32-year-old boss of Tehut-Nine Pictures and writer/director/producer of Bashment, following a screening in Atlanta on Friday, July 13. “But due to the upcoming elections taking place down there, it’s going to push it back to sometime in October.”

Worth the wait

However, it should still be worth the wait. Bashment offers a striking look at the tough underbelly of New York City’s streets and Jamaicans’ involvement in drugs and crime. Deals and friendships go sour, conflicts arise, many people die – violently.

Yet, the film, done by the same U.S.-based crew which served up Foreign, another reality-based movie which depicted thestruggle of Jamaicans adapting to life in America, offers much more than shoot-’em-up fare. It parades complex characters woven into multiple storylines of relationships, tragedy, corruption, greed and redemption, spiced with reggae and dancehall music, plus injections of humour, all of which make Bashment an enjoyable tale as well.

To top it off, there is no profanity, a rare ‘treat’ for local viewers. An occasional ‘sh’ and ‘pp’ are as hard-core as the language gets. Yet, the film is crafted well enough that the absence of ‘bad wud cussin’’ is barely noticed.

Jamaican-born New Yorkers dominate and their struggles drive the film. Co-writer/producer Mykal Fax, who plays the lead role of ‘Kenrick’ (to his mother) or ‘Cymbal’ (to his street friends), is a 22-year-old college graduate. Cymbal, intelligent and attractive to the ladies because of his looks and charisma, promises his mother he will soon go to law school, but admits to close friend Donovan ‘Son Son’ Future, played by Nohard ‘Noah’ Grant, he has a “full-time job juggling these part-time girls”.

Dog-hearted’ hustler

Cymbal is also smart enough to elude the pressure from Son Son to engage in crime and violence. He bluffs because he does not have the heart for it, but Son Son is a ‘dog-hearted’ hustler, unafraid to pull the trigger. His portrayal of a tragic teenager abused at home and forced to the streets, where he joins up with a ‘don’ and is used as an enforcer, is a show stealer. He preaches evil and instills fear without mercy. But his hard-edged game does not pay off and, in the end, all he wants is to go home to his mother, the same one who put him out.

Nearly all the plots are linked to these two. McAlpin adds support as ‘Job’, a well-intentioned baby father pressured by his woman to do more. He eventually does the wrong thing. Others, like the barber shop owner, try to do right, but get whacked by a corrupt system, the same one that harbours evil cops and cold-blooded gangsters. Yet, the movie also offers a chance at redemption.

Fax, who is originally from Seaview Gardens, said the storyline is based on someone he knew personally who made bad decisions. So Bashment is all about choices – choosing which way to go when confronted by the ‘fork in the road’. Cymbal, Son Son and Job are all flushed for their indiscretions.

Bashment, like Foreign, was shot on a small budget – an estimated US$75,000 – with expenses trimmed at every turn. One actor explained he had to ‘die’ early in the movie so he could work as a cameraman. McAlpin admits that his multiple functions helped him cut costs by paying out fewer salaries.

Impact not diluted

But the movie’s impact is not diluted. Credit the talented McAlpin, a former Kingston Technical High School student, and his crew. The core of leading actors, including Fax and Grant, carry the film well some lesser roles fail to match their quality. The violent scenes pile up, but are not flooded by gory details which make them a complete turn-off. Tension mounts even as hearts break and blood flows.

Bashment outpaces many Jamaican-made films that have come before. The ending is hardly surprising, but the drama and intrigue make it take a back seat to none, not even the classic The Harder They Come. It compares more favourably with films by black American Spike Lee, such as Clockers, which also focused on aspects of New York’s inner-city life often ignored by big budget films.

Above all, Bashment is a stark reminder to Jamaicans that the streets of America are paved more with struggle than gold.

■ Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.