Dir: Bryian Keith Montgomery | Cast: Hailey Kilgore, David Iacono | US Thriller
Cinnamon, written directed and produced by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr., is a crime thriller that purports to refresh the blaxploitation subgenre of the early 1970s best represented by cult outings such as Shaft, Super Fly, Sheba Baby etc but feels underpowered alongside these great classics.
The genre has been very much alive and kicking in the interim years with Quentin Tarantino’s fare most notable Django Unchained, Jackie Brown, Larry Cohen’s Original Gangstas (1996) and most recently the Netflix outing The Harder they Fall starring Idris Elba. The artfully titled Cinnamon is a pale rider in comparison to those spunky affairs, and even lacks the idiosyncratic soundtracks that really set them on fire, although Kilgore has a great voice and an appealing screen presence. She plays a budding young singer aiming for the stars while working nine to five in a petrol station. Along comes a suave but dodgy criminal (David Iacono) and the two hatch a plan to make it big in the music business. But best laid plans are constantly derailed. Pam Grier adds class to the mix but despite some strong performance this doesn’t quite cut the mustard. MT
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2023