Never Die Alone (2004)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writers (WGA):

Donald Goines (novel)
James Gibson (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No king rules forever.

Plot:

A drug kingpin's return home touches off a turf war.

Plot Keywords:

Kingpin | Drug Dealer | Death | Retribution | Blood Splatter

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

DMX	...	King David
Michael Ealy	...	Michael
Drew Sidora	...	Ella
Antwon Tanner	...	Blue
Robby Robinson	...	Man in Apartment
Luenell	...	Jasper (as Luenell Campbell)
David Arquette	...	Paul
Clifton Powell	...	Moon
Wealthy Linn Gener	...	Asian Girl
Jeff Sanders	...	Sentry Guard #1
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Rockie
Shakira Vanise Gamble	...	Co-Worker
Big Daddy Wayne	...	Red
Damion Poitier	...	Alvin
Eric Payne	...	Orderly

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, drug use, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Hungary:18 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bloodline Films

Trivia:

Henry Gibson, who has a brief silent cameo near the end of the film as the funeral home director who steals King David's watch and ring, is the father of screenwriter James Gibson.

Quotes:

Blue: [after beating and robbing the man in apartment] Don't worry man, I'll leave you enough to buy a pack of Newports...

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

Soundtrack:

Caught Up

Shakespeare in inner city America

This is a story about revenge. If it were about somebody named Hamlet or Oedipus or Corleone then the violence would be described as in service to the art of the story. In this movie two young men, one black the other white, get caught up in a story of illegality and revenge. The two wind up tied together around the story of a third man, who one tries to rescue and one kills.

This is not a great movie; the soundtrack is predictable and the pacing is uneven. Still, when the dead guy starts talking, the viewer's perception changes, and that kind of moment indicates something is happening in the script and on the screen that is important. "He had this nobility..." the white character enthuses about the dead dealer to his black girlfriend. She is less than impressed. This is a movie where no one is noble: why is the white character hanging with a black girlfriend? Does he like her or does he need "street cred."

If race wasn't a part of this movie, then this would be a movie about characters who take a series of missteps and pay for them. However, in the reviews of this movie, because the main characters are black, it is a movie about depravity. Like the narrative of victims of Hurricane Katrina innocence or guilt... salvation or damnation... is determined by the color of skin. For a viewer who doesn't see skin color first, this is a well- acted, disturbing revenge story.