Boxcutter follows Rome (Ashton James), an aspiring rapper whose life spirals out of control over a single summer day.Supplied
Boxcutter
Directed by Reza Dahya
Written by Chris Cromie
Starring Ashton James, Zoe Lewis and Viphusan Vani
Classification N/A; 88 minutes
Opens in select theatres June 13
Critic’s Pick
It is easy to call Reza Dahya’s impressive new Toronto-set drama Boxcutter a love letter to the city. The film’s own marketing materials do just that. But in its chronicling of a city deep in the throes of gentrification – redeveloping so quickly that it feels as if whole communities are being transferred from residents in one income-tax bracket to another within the blink of an eye -Dahya’s movie is more a deeply resigned lament. Take care of yourself and your block, before it’s all gone for good.
Dahya, best known for his radio hosting and producing on Toronto’s now-defunct Flow 93.5 station, sticks close to his roots by following Rome (Ashton James), an aspiring rapper whose life spirals out of control over a single summer day.
Director Reza Dahya.Reza Dahya/Supplied
Rome’s morning starts like any other, with the young man heading out from the crummy apartment he shares with his roommate/manager Sid (Viphusan Vani) to his warehouse job, where he’s a glorified box-cutter.
But then Rome gets word that a superstar rapper is in town, and he might have the connection to pass along his demo tape. Which is exactly when Rome finds out that his laptop was stolen from his apartment, setting the hero – alongside Jenaya (Zoe Lewis), the sister of his friend and musical collaborator – off on a ticking-clock journey across, up, and down Toronto.
Working with exceptionally limited resources, Dahya delivers a compelling city-wide chase of a movie, following Rome from the Jamaican patty shops of Eglinton West all the way down to industrial spaces of Cherry Beach and then the dimly lit clubs of Queen West.
And unlike so many other Toronto movies (looking at you, Atom Egoyan’s Chloe and Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz), the director takes special care to ensure that the geography makes geographic sense. With one small exception involving a bus that I’m fairly sure doesn’t operate nearly as frequently as Dahya thinks it does, and a blocks-long walk that’s made to look like a hop, skip and a jump, every step of Rome’s Herculean journey tracks with reality.
Boxcutter stays largely true to the geography of the city in which it was filmed.Supplied
But the real charm of Boxcutter is just how Dahya and his cinematographer James Klopko capture the city as Rome criss-crosses it. Without jackhammering the point home, the film’s vision of Toronto is one of a city shedding one skin to wear another, in the process forcing all the creative forces who make it so special further and further outside its boundaries.
It is a portrait of a city that feels both nuanced and universal – you don’t need to know the specifics of Regent Park redevelopment to understand why Rome and Jenaya feel so unnerved when passing by its glass-box condos and giant construction pits.
John Wick spinoff Ballerina fails to clear the franchise barre
Charles Grodin takes the posthumous spotlight at Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Dahya also makes a rather bold decision to eschew several more expected beats when it comes to Rome’s underdog story. Working off of Chris Cromie’s script, the director rides a big, gutsy wave of self-confidence, trusting his audience to believe in Rome more than Rome believes in himself. Although that request might also be a little bit more of an ask were it not for James’s performance.
Soon to be seen in Hubert Davis’s remake of the hockey drama Youngblood, James cuts a stubbornly charming figure as Rome. Even when the character is being exceptionally difficult – and just plain mean to Jenaya – James keeps the young artist grounded and genuine.
The only question, then, is whether there’s room for Dahya’s film in Toronto’s ever-crowded cinema scene. Some advice: Make room.