Release date (UK DVD) – 27th June 2011
Country – USA
Certificate (UK) – 18
Director – Kirk ‘Sticky Fingaz’ Jones
Runtime – 89 mins
Starring – Omar Epps, Kirk ‘Sticky Fingaz’ Jones, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Rapaport, Bokeem Woodbine
Written, directed and starring rap artist Kirk ‘Sticky Fingaz’ Jones, A Day in the Life is an explosive Hip Hop gangster feature unique in the fact that the actors rap every single line of dialogue. The film centres around ‘Stick’ (Fingaz), leader of a gang embroiled in a bloody gang war. As the body count rises and Stick learns about some important changes in his personal life, he finally decides to hang up his guns and retire from his life of crime. With contracts taken out on his head and the police on his tail, Stick must risk everything in his attempt to escape with not only his own life, but the life of his girlfriend as well.
As one may expect from a Hip Hop gangster film, A Day in the Life is a film overflowing with gun battles and violence. Appropriately enough the film is released under the tagline ‘One bullet leads to another’, though rarely does the film live up to its introspective potential as far as making a statement against guns and crime goes.
The film itself is fairly low budget, and importantly in a film featuring so many guns and so much ‘blood’, so are the effects. Actors run around as if they are playing paintball, and with the blood effects as they are, viewers may be forgiven for thinking this is precisely the case. With a body count that gives 80s action film a run for their money, A Day in the Life shares more than a few elements with the work of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and co – including what seems like an almost unlimited supply of gang members to be shot.
Of course any review of A Day in the Life would not be complete without mentioning the film’s rather unique use of rap. The film really does use rap from beginning to end, and the film should be applauded for the logistical achievement alone. While at the beginning the film may suffer a little from the difficulties of using rap as a medium to convey complex plot points, this reviewer certainly managed to keep up, and considering my background at the opposite end of the musical spectrum, that is quite something.
Naturally the first film anyone will compare this film with is (the brilliant) 8 Mile. While A Day in the Life never quite lives up to the exacting standards of its compatriot, this is not to say A Day in the Life is without its good moments. The rap dialogues between Stick and the reverend, and the old man in the bar are both memorable for the way they deal with complex issues and raise the tone of the film above what is for the most part a fairly simple, low budget gang-war film.
If you can cope with the relentless bass backing track that accompanies the film for the full 89 minutes then A Day in the Life is certainly worth a look. While it may be a ‘rap’ film, viewers shouldn’t expect another 8 Mile – the two films are very different. Where 8 Mile is gritty and complex, A Day in the Life is, simply put, a film about guns. It rarely raises the bar above being a film about guns and shooting people, though this is not to belittle the film’s achievements in terms of its unique format.
A Day in the Life is released on DVD on 27th June – order it here
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