O.G. | Madeleine Sackler | Tribeca 2018
In director Madeleine Sackler’s O.G., the titular original gangster is by Louis (Jeffrey Wright), who has been locked up in a maximum-security prison for 24 years. In terms of prisoners, he’s one of the most respected ones there both by fellow inmates, as well as the prison security and staff.
Louis has spent half of his life locked up in this prison but is not just weeks away from his release. One would imagine that he would be thrilled about the prospect of being set free, but he’s apprehensive about it as prison life is all that he knows at this point. He will be released as long as he behaves, but a prison investigator named Danvers (William Fichtner) wants him to snitch about the rival gang interactions that are unfolding around him, hinting that he could prevent his release if he doesn’t play ball.
Things are further complicated when Louis notices a new inmate named Beecher (Theothus Carter) that he sees a bit of himself in him. He takes a liking to this young man and is worried about his interactions with gang members within the prison, worried that he will make mistakes that will keep him locked up for most of his like just like he was.
Between keeping an eye on Beecher and Danvers breathing down his neck, things get even worse with Louis being approached to come face to face with the sister (Stephanie Barry) of the man that he killed so many years ago. Only, forgiveness isn’t found here and he isn’t sure that he deserves or even wants it. Questions emerge about if he really wants to be thrown out into the free world, where based on his interactions with a less than embracing parole officer (Boyd Holbrooke), he realizes he may be better off inside the walls of the prison, a world that he knows and he can find some semblance of respect.
There are some interesting themes put at play here, but Sackler and writer Stephen Belber don’t portray any of it in a new way that hasn’t been done before better in the countless of other intense prison films out there.
O.G. is held together by the commanding performance of the always fine Jeffrey Wright and the appearances of solid actors such as Fichtner, Holbrooke, and newcomer Theothus Carter.
While not going above and beyond to stand out amongst the pack of prison films, there’s enough here that makes it an interesting viewing and gives us questions about what it takes to be forgiven and even more, to forgive oneself.
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