Never Die Alone
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| Never Die Alone | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Never Die Alone |
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| Directed by | Ernest R. Dickerson |
| Produced by | Alessandro Camon DMX |
| Written by | James Gibson (screenplay) |
| Starring | DMX David Arquette |
| Music by | George Duke |
| Cinematography | Matthew Libatique |
| Editing by | Stephen Lovejoy |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | March 26, 2004  United States |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Never Die Alone is a 2004 crime thriller / drama film, directed by Ernest R. Dickerson. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Donald Goines.
Tagline: No King Rules Forever.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Hardened criminal and drug dealer King David (played by DMX) is returning to New York, where he can find redemption by settling an old score with drug lord Moon (played by Clifton Powell) and always talking about a woman named Edna. As David walks through New York, he meets up with old acquitances and momentarily passes by Paul (David Arquette), a failing journalist.
Mike (Michael Ealy) is assigned to collect Moon's money from David, appearing to be very interested in him for some reason. He, Blue (Antwon Tanner) and his sister go to David and collect the money, but then Mike stabs David when he doesn't know who he is. David stabs Blue in the eye with an ice pick before they abandon him (King David)in a gutter. Paul, who was passing by at that moment, drives David, a total stranger, to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Moon tells Mike to bring everyone to a parking garage, where Blue and Mike's sister are killed. Mike kills the henchmen and goes to take revenge on Moon. Back at the hospital, Paul is informed that King has died, but that he left him all his personal possessions. These include jewelry, his car, and a collection of audio tapes, which turn out to be the audio journal of his life that was recorded on the drive from Los Angeles to New York.
By listening to the journal, the story of David's life is told: After a particularly bad drug experience in the east, David returned to the west in search of a second chance. He finds assistance with the Vietnamese and even a new girlfriend, Janet (Jennifer Sky). A television star, she turns to David's heroin and becomes sick and detached in the process. David abandons her as she presumably turns to selling his drugs to pay the bills and for her drug habit.
In the present, Mike hunts down Moon while Moon hunts down Mike. Additionally, word of a white man that accompanied David to the hospital gets out, and Moon starts to hunt him down as well. Paul, meanwhile, listens some more: After Janet, David moved on to Juanita (Reagan Gomez-Preston), a college girl with a lot of talent. Their relationship goes well as David starts to make a lot of money, but then Juanita tries his drugs. She doesn't get addicted, but she does turn out to be very selfish by refusing to move in with David, insisting that $250,000 isn't enough to retire on. Angry, David secretly switches her cocaine with heroin, getting her addicted.
Paul realizes that the money David talked about might be in David's trunk. It is, but at the same time, Moon's henchman are sprawling all over New York in search of him. Mike finally hunts down Moon and kills him when he is in the tub with two blonde women.
Back with Paul, he listens to the last tape: David leaves Juanita, but she soon comes back, addicted to heroin and begging for help. He agrees to help her out in exchange for anal sex. This brings down her dreams and causes her severe emotional distress, thus making her addictions even stronger. After awhile, she demands that he pay for her entrance to rehab or else she'll call the police.
Enraged, David decides to do the same thing he did to Edna: Mix her heroin with car battery acid, resulting in a fatal seizure for her. Through a flashback, it is revealed that David is the father of Mike, who is also Edna's child, and that David brutally hit him before poisoning Edna. The tape ends with David speculating on how his return to New York will bring about his redemption with Moon and tie the loose end with Edna's child.
At this point, Paul is found by Moon's henchmen, but Mike arrives and kills them. Paul tells Mike that King is his father and Mike was visibly upset by this information. As the police arrive, Paul flees on foot and Mike takes David's car. Shortly afterward, Paul writes a story based on that night, titled "Never Die Alone." David is cremated soon after. His narration focuses on the end of his life and how fate had such a powerful effect on not only his life but also on the lives of Paul, Mike, Edna, Juanita, Moon, and everyone else. Meanwhile, Mike has escaped without capture and drives off into a white tunnel.
[edit] Reaction
The film was unsuccessful upon critical reaction. Scoring a 26% "Rotten" rating at website Rotten Tomatoes, most critics panned it as a trashy, pretentious look at a life of drug abuse and violence. However, a small number of critics found the film meaningful. Movie critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, praising it as "an ambitious, introspective movie."[1]
Any hope that the film would fare better financially were dashed, as the film opened to just $3.0 million at 1,160 theaters (The per-theater average was an unimpressive $2,663). It later went on to gross just $5.6 million by the end of its end. The film is widely considered to be a failure, though others refer to it as a cult film.
[edit] Cast
- DMX — King David
- Michael Ealy — Michael
- David Arquette — Paul
- Clifton Powell — Moon
- Reagan Gomez-Preston — Juanita
- Jennifer Sky — Janet
- Drew Sidora — Ella
- Antwon Tanner — Blue
- Keesha Sharp — Edna
- Xavier Simmons — Young Michael
