GHETT'A LIFE REVIEW
by Andrés González:

My favorite character by far is Gully Rat, mainly because he has the strongest (or at least the most noticeable) character arc of the whole film. It also helps that Kadeem Wilson probably is the second best performance out of the bunch right behind Kevoy Burton as Derrickson. But seriously, the tale about a gang member learning to appreciate his adversaries, not only through sport, but through genuine human connection holds something very powerful, specially considering the whole context around the film. Is this resource used as effectively as possible? No, but it tries it's darndest and that's really appreciated. I feel like his final sacrifice is what solidified him as my favorite character. In a better film, that moment would have been as emotionally riveting as many high brow productions.

The way this film tackles Jamaican politics is actually very unique and interesting, despite my many, many gripes with the subsequent drama. It showcases how dangerous and blatant political violence became in Jamaica. Taking over the country, separating cities into gang/politician controled neighborhoods always fighting for dominance. Indoctrinating it's otherwise-normal citizens into hating the 'other side', either by fabricating narratives or staging political killings. The fact that it's election year in the film's narrative just accentuates the tension between the PNP and JNP gangs to an intolerable degree.

The portrayal of women in the film, besides being relatively better than The Harder They Come, leaves alot to be desired. Yeah, they are given a bigger part in the overarching narrative, and the film doesn't forget about them halfway through (like The Harder They Come), but they are still given next to nothing in comparison to their male counterparts.

Camella is the shell of a character. We literally know nothing about her by the end of the film outside of being the coach's granddaughter and Derrickson's love interest. What makes it worse is that she's given a particularly strong introduction, with her challenging Derrickson's attempt at recovering his lost football, but all her gravitas and strong demeanor is snatched away two scenes later, becoming a hollow support figure with zero development (asides from kissing our main character).

Dawn gets a better cut of the deal, but not by a large margin. She's given some agency (which is a first in the two films we've seen so far), and she carries plenty of emotional scenes on her back, but still, it's not all that great. And this isn't about her nonexistent role in politics and whatnot, of course a film set in sexist-as-hell Jamaica won't portray women in a position of power, but my issue is that she doesn't hold much power in the narrative drive either. Her biggest moment in the film literally is getting shot at. She's given power by being taken out of the film, and that's a real shame.