Gut wrenching and imaginative, Jamesy Boy tells a tale of hard luck and prison life in this true story now on Blu-ray and DVD. The very good acting, direction and script make the film compelling from the opening scene to its heartfelt finale. Told in a series of present day and flashbacks the cinematic method works to director Trevor White’s advantage in telling his gripping narrative.
The film centers on teenager James Burns (Spencer Lofranco) who gets denied admission into his local high school due to his gang related past. Home without a job he goes to a local convenience store where he meets Crystal (Rosa Salazar). Minutes later she gets him involved with sealing from the store and they run off. They make a date for the next day and Crystal offers to introduce James to Roc (Michael Trotter), a drug dealer who can help him relieve the boredom of being home. When he gets caught up in the gang and gets arrested James gets sent to prison.
James finds himself under the thumb of Lt. Falton (James Woods) when he tries to save an inmate. Director Trevor White shows the grit and punishment of the prison system with James defying the guards and standing up against the prison punks. He makes his characters realistic and fascinating that, although a little clichéd, make the film a dramatic winner. White makes the most of his sets letting his actors take center stage in the dank surroundings chosen for the plot.
His actors are up to the task with very good performances all around. Spencer Lofranco leads the way making James a tough kid in a bad situation. His James feels the educational system has deserted him even though it’s his own fault that has got him incarcerated. Trying to do a good deed Lofranco shows another side to the teenager that starts to make him realize where he’s gone wrong. Lofranco kicks off his career with Jamsey Boy and already has two projects in the works.
The backup cast has been chosen wisely with James Wood taking on the role of the tough prison Lieutenant, Ving Rhames as a prisoner who takes James under his wing, Mary-Louise Parker plays his concerned mother, Taissa Farmiga does a sweet job being his love interest and Rosa Salazar gives a knockout performance as the girl who lures him into a life of drugs. But, the standout performance by Michael Trotter as Roc the tough hood who suckers James into his gang makes the film scary and riveting.
The film has the bonus of commentary by director and co-writer Trevor White that gets fascinating on how he cast and made the film. For fun you can turn on the short interviews with the cast members in the extras.
The Blu-ray has very good video and sound quality. The film is displayed in the same aspect ratio as the theatrical version with no picture loss and comes across clear and clean. The sound quality with the Dolby Digital 5.1 allows for undistorted dialogue and theme music.
Jamesy Boy has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, language, drugs and brief nudity. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are very inappropriate for adolescents.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: James Woods, Mary-Louise Parker, Ving Rhames, Taissa Farmiga, Taboo and introducing Spencer Lofranco
Director: Trevor White
MPAA Rating: Unrated, drugs, language, violence, brief nudity
Genre: Action
Running Time: 1 hr 49 min
Video Release Date: February 25, 2013
Original Film Release Date: January 3, 2013
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Video: widescreen 16×9 Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: XLrator Media
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
