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''Lockdown'' is a 2000 drama film, directed by
John Luessenhop John Luessenhop is an American film director and screenwriter. He graduated from University of Virginia, Georgetown University Law Center, and film schools at UCLA and NYU. Career He debuted with the short film ''Tick, Tick, Tick'' in 1994. Six y ...
and starring Richard T. Jones,
Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Car ...
, David Fralick, and
Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
. The film was produced by Master P's No Limit Films, a division of his
No Limit Records No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mi ...
label.


Plot

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Avery Montgomery (Jones) is taking time off from college to spend time with his girlfriend Krista Wells (
Melissa De Sousa Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film '' The Best Man'', its 2013 sequel '' The Best Man Holiday'' and the 2022 Peacock series '' The Best Man: The Final Chapters ...
) and help raise their young son. Avery is an avid swimmer and develops to a championship level, and as a result of a particularly impressive win which catches the eye of a scout, he gets the opportunity for a possible scholarship at a college. Cashmere (Casseus), a crack dealer, happens to be one of Avery's best friends, despite the fact that their personalities and lifestyles are quite different, Avery being the one who stays out of trouble. With their barber friend Andre "Dre" Wells (
De'aundre Bonds De'Aundre Bonds is an American actor. Career Bonds has mostly appeared as a guest actor on television shows; however, he was also featured in the Spike Lee film ''Get on the Bus'', in '' Tales from the Hood'' and in the Rick Famuyiwa film ''The W ...
) who is also Krista's brother, the trio have been friends since childhood. Earlier in the day before the swim meet, Cashmere had a run-in with Broadway (
Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...
), another dealer who works under Cashmere in the hierarchy. Broadway happened to be short on money in his return, and it angered Cashmere, who proceeds to kick Broadway down a flight of metal stairs and pull out a gun to assert his power, threatening to kill him if he does not pay back what he owes. Broadway runs off, but vows to get revenge and, after an attempted robbery later in the day where he shoots and kills a woman at a
drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the Unite ...
, he wipes off his gun and tosses it into the backseat of Cashmere's open convertible when he is out of the car, which looks similar enough to Broadway's car to be mistaken for it. After the swim meet, Cashmere and Dre, who are there to cheer him on, convince Avery to come out and celebrate his big victory. At a certain point, Dre, who is riding in the back seat, finds the gun, and questions Cashmere about it but Cashmere has no idea where it came from. As they were arguing over how to get rid of it, some cops spot them and, thinking they were ones who committed the murder as their car looks similar to Broadway's, pull them over. One of the officers orders them out of the car at gunpoint, which they obey, but a few moments later Cashmere's pit bull runs toward the officer, who shoots the dog dead. Cashmere pulls out the gun in anger, but is shot in the shoulder and knocked down. After being wrongfully convicted of Broadway's crime, the three are sent to the same prison to serve a ten-year prison sentence. Each man experiences different events: Cashmere beats up and threatens his cellmate; Dre is raped and turned into a prison sex slave by his psychotic White Supremacist cellmate named Graffiti ( David "Shark" Fralick), who controls much of the prison's drug flow and is the leader of a neo-Nazi gang; and Avery meets and befriends an old cellmate named Malachi Young (
Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Car ...
) who has been in jail for 18 years and is nearing the end of his sentence. Cashmere begins to work for Graffiti's rival, Clean Up (
Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
), another crack dealer who Cashmere knew prior to getting locked up. Meanwhile, Charles Pierce (
Bill Nunn William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film ''Do the Right Thing'', Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and as Terr ...
), the college scout who Avery met on his fateful night, believes that Avery was wrongfully convicted and decides to help him appeal the sentence, along with his daughter, a lawyer. Avery is resentful and resistant at first, towards both Pierce and Krista (at one point yelling at her to never come back because it "would do them both better") but eventually accepts their visitations and attempts to help. Graffiti continues to successfully smuggle drugs into prison by swallowing packets of crack brought by his girlfriends. In a fight for the control of the prison crack trade, Clean Up successfully executes a plan to kill a rival drug dealer, a former professional football player working for Graffiti, and the man is killed with a barbell crushing his windpipe, which is made to look like an accident. A corrupt guard named Perez who is on Graffiti's payroll warns the neo-Nazi not to retaliate but Graffiti and the gang kill one of Clean Up's men anyway. His dead body is found in the prison laundry room, and the warden orders a lockdown to punish the prisoners. The prisoners suffer isolation in their cells while Graffiti continues to rape Dre. After the lockdown finally ends, Dre starts injecting heroin and one day snaps and attacks Graffiti. Graffiti eventually gets the upper hand back and starts to beat him up. Avery, who was on his way to see Dre after his girlfriend asked him to look after him, despite Malachi's warnings not get involved, jumps in to protect Dre and starts pummeling Graffiti. A brawl erupts as the other Neo Nazi's come to Graffiti's aid and Malachi jumps into the fight, throwing one of Graffiti's men over the second floor railing, before the COs subdue the inmates. Malachi, Avery, Graffiti, Dre, and the others involved have to go to a disciplinary hearing, in which Malachi, in an act of sacrifice (after being allowed to go in first upon his request), takes responsibility for the entire incident to spare Avery a discipline record and assault charge. Malachi also intimidates the disciplinary panel by getting into an episode of rage to makes his confession believable, which ends up with him being transferred to another prison. Avery is grateful to Malachi and the old prisoner leaves Avery a parting gift - a copy of
Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote '' Shadow and Act'' (1964), a coll ...
's ''
Invisible Man ''Invisible Man'' is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship b ...
'' with a shank hidden inside. Avery soon gets a new young cellmate who he tries to mentor just as Malachi mentored him. Cashmere and Clean Up approach Dre telling him that he must kill Graffiti, or he would soon end up being killed by him. Cashmere offers Dre heroin. Soon, getting revenge for the abuse he suffered, Dre approaches Graffiti at a gospel concert at the prison and stabs him to death as revenge. Dre is himself killed with a blow to the head from the nightstick of the crooked guard Perez. Soon afterward, Clean Up's mule is arrested on intel provided by Cashmere's vengeful cellmate Nate. Furious, Clean Up believes there is an informant who sabotaged his operation. He blames it on the new arrival Cashmere, but Cashmere denies his involvement. Cashmere suggests that Avery must have been the informant as they revealed their crack dealing operation to him when they unsuccessfully tried to recruit him. Clean Up orders Cashmere to kill Avery. Krista meets up Mr. Pierce and his daughter, who shows her a file on Broadway and his associate, Lil' G. She reveals that Lil' G was shot and killed during an attempted robbery, and Broadway is now serving a life sentence at Los Lunas State Correctional Facility. Krista goes to visit Broadway in an attempt to get him to confess to the robbery and murder that Avery, Dre, and Cashmere were framed for. Broadway denies any involvement, and flies into a rage when Krista presents a picture of her and Avery's son Jordan to him, and asks him to show sympathy. Broadway, likely affected by the appeals of Krista to exonerate Avery and help his son have a father, hangs himself in prison after he writes a confession to the murder. Charles Pierce and his daughter bring the confession to a judge who grants Avery a release. However, tensions run high in the prison with the power vacuum after Graffiti's death and soon a riot spontaneously develops in the prison yard, with prisoners from rival gangs jumping in to settle their scores. In the chaos, during which a number of COs and prisoners are killed, including the young inmate that Avery was mentoring, as well as Perez, Cashmere attacks Avery with a shank and they get into a mortal combat. Cashmere is about to kill his former friend when he has a change of heart and wavers. Clean Up then shows up and attacks Cashmere and Avery but ends up being stabbed to death by Cashmere. Cashmere and Avery are about to embrace but a prison guard shoots Cashmere dead, thinking he was going to attack Avery. Avery is shortly released. He enjoys swimming in the pool again and the company of Krista and his son.


Cast

* Richard T. Jones as Avery Montgomery *
Gabriel Casseus Gabriel Casseus (born April 28, 1972) is an American actor and screenwriter from Roosevelt, New York. Biography Casseus, born in New York City, is of Haitian descent. Casseus was nominated for the 1995 Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut ...
as Cashmere *
De'Aundre Bonds De'Aundre Bonds is an American actor. Career Bonds has mostly appeared as a guest actor on television shows; however, he was also featured in the Spike Lee film ''Get on the Bus'', in '' Tales from the Hood'' and in the Rick Famuyiwa film ''The W ...
as Andre "Dre" Wells *
Melissa De Sousa Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film '' The Best Man'', its 2013 sequel '' The Best Man Holiday'' and the 2022 Peacock series '' The Best Man: The Final Chapters ...
as Krista Wells *
Bill Nunn William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film ''Do the Right Thing'', Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and as Terr ...
as Charles Pierce *
Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Car ...
as Malachi Young *
Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...
as Broadway *
Joe Torry Joe Torry is an American actor and comedian. Filmography Film Television References External links * *Joe Torry's Giving Back the Love Foundation Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living ...
as Alize *
Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
as Clean-Up * David "Shark" Fralick as Graffiti * Andrew Divoff as Mexican Gendarme (Graffiti friend) * Lloyd Avery II as Nate * Dianna St. Hilaire as Martina


Production

The film's prison scenes were shot on location at the then-closed down New Mexico State Penitentiary."


Release

''Lockdown'' was screened at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival and released September 15, 2000 internationally. It closed out the 2001
Hollywood Black Film Festival The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF), dubbed the "Black Sundance," is an annual six-day film festival held in Los Angeles, California dedicated to enhancing the careers of new and established black filmmaking professionals by bringing their ...
. ''Lockdown'' was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2003.


Box office

At the end of its box office run, ''Lockdown'' earned a gross of $44948 in North America. For the opening weekend of February 14–16, 2003, the film grossed $199,000 while playing in 750 theaters.


Critical reaction

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has a 58% approval rating, based on 12 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10.
Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunte ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' wrote, "What makes the movie memorable is its authenticity." Tom Long of ''
The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival '' Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Febru ...
'' wrote of the film, "Despite a low budget and predictable story line, ''Lockdown'' has undeniable power to it, fired by some fine performances and a terrifying portrayal of prison life that rings disturbingly true." Steve Murray of ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'', wrote, "though over-the-top and simplistic, the film has a punchy B-movie grit and gusto."Murray, Steve
''Lockdown'' review
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (Feb. 13, 2003).
Dennis Harvey of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that, although the film was "competently made and generally credible, he picturelacks the writing depth or directorial distinction needed to reinvigorate well-trod bigscreen big-house conventions." He felt that the film would have more appeal "in ancillary markets than at theaters."Harvey, Denni
"Review: 'Lockdown'."
''Variety'' (Sept. 22, 2000).


See also

*
List of hood films This is a list of hood films – films focusing on the culture and life of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and/or in some cases, Asian Americans living in segregated, low-income urban communities, as well as comparably deprived and crime- ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockdown (Film) 2000 films Hood films American prison drama films Rainforest Films films Films scored by John Frizzell (composer) 2000 directorial debut films Films directed by John Luessenhop 2000s English-language films 2000s American films