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King
of the Jungle" may be the year's most riskiest film.
Writer/director Seth Zvi Rosenfeld paints a much crueler,
tougher picture of New York than any other film to come out past
September 11th. In his film, he returns us back to the
problems of police brutality, street thugs, and gun violence,
and uses it as a backdrop for his story about a mentally
challenged man forced to grow up fast.
That man's name is Seymour, and he is played superbly by John
Leguizamo. Seymour has the mental capacity of a five-year-old.
He lives in the urban part of New York with his lesbian mother
(Julie Carmen) and her lover Joanne (Rosie Perez). He loves
basketball more than anything, and wants to be apart of the NBA
someday. He is also enamored with the New York Knicks, only
whenever he gets the opportunity to go see them, his estranged
father (Cliff Gorman) always cancels at the last minute.
His father doesn't like Seymour, not because he is disappointed
in how Seymour turned out, but because he thinks Seymour is a
free loading bum who has accepted the label of retard and so
therefore has not even tried. In a way, Zvi is trying to say
something about all kids who have been given a label.
His mother is much more understanding. She is an activist for
the neighborhood she lives in, but would rather shield her son
from the violent "jungle" that is the outside world,
rather than have him move out and live on his own. She also must
confront the fact that Seymour is not becoming anymore self
reliant, and that an institution would probably be the best
place for him, even though she denies that.
She also must confront the neighborhoods big problem of police
violence. When a man is brutally killed, she leads a non-violent
rally against the police, that soon escalates into something
much bigger when a cop is shot. This does not make her the envy
of the police department, and when she is shot in an unrelated
incident a few days later, they are not necessarily mournful.
Seymour on the other hand is scared to death, and so runs away
and loses himself on the mean streets of New York. Joanne, his
father, and a policewoman, played by Marisa Tomei, try to find
him.
"King of the Jungle" is a loosely written and directed
film that never has the development it should have. Zvi
introduces us to people we never see again and leaves questions
about many others, including the mother's killer and Seymour's
father.
His plot moves way too quickly, without ever feeling like it has
even begun. The script brings up many issues, but Zvi seems to
shy away from them rather than take them on. Things such as the
cop who was shot at the rally, and the reasoning behind the
killer's actions are never talked about in great depth.
Seymour's braving of the jungle turns out to be another
disappointing plot element because all Zvi allows him to do is
reminisce (in flashback) about the time spent with his mother.
"Jungle" also doesn't appear to know how to close out
our relationship with Seymour. We are never given any kind of
explanation as to what Seymour will do with the rest of his life.
One thing Zvi does do right though is craft a very good
character for John Leguizamo, which he improvises to absolute
perfection. This is probably his most brilliant film
performance, and it definitely ranks among one of the standouts
of this year. Known mostly for his one man Broadway shows, this
is an amazing actor who can flawlessly embody his roles. Here he
manages to capture his character's innocence and fear, and
creates the films only real dramatic tension.
The others actors in this movie never manage to compete with
him. Perez forces everything she does, Tomei lacks all
credibility as a New York City cop, and Cliff Gorman is given
the year's most confusing role as the on again off again, sober,
non-sober, caring, uncaring father.
If there was one reason to see "King of the Jungle",
it would be for John Leguizamo. This film gives him the ability
to stretch his range even farther, and I hope by the end of the
year he is recognized for his effort. This film works as a
showcase for his talent, but nothing more.
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