Prison Song
| Prison Song | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Prison Song DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Darnell Martin |
| Produced by |
Robert De Niro Brad Epstein Jane Rosenthal |
| Written by |
Q-Tip Darnell Martin |
| Starring |
Q-Tip Mary J. Blige Harold Perrineau |
| Cinematography | Alexander Gruszynski |
| Editing by | Peter C. Frank |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release dates | April 27, 2001 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
- For other meanings of Prison Song please see Prison Song (disambiguation).
Prison Song is a 2001 United States prison film about a boy brought up in group homes with a gift and passion for art.
Overview
The film centers around a character named Elijah (Q-Tip), who is an adolescent (Justin 'DJ Jus' Spaulding) at the story’s outset. His mother (Mary J. Blige) is a hard-working woman who’s spent the last several years attending night school – with the eventual goal of becoming a lawyer. But given that she’s from a lower class area, she’s having a tough time finding employment as a legal secretary. Her fiance, Cee (Harold Perrineau), a photographer and supporter of the family who has a genuine bond with Elijah later is incarcerated after assaulting an officer who began harassing him on a street corner where he was working taking pictures of pedestrians that passed by. He ends up serving twenty-five to life term for having three consecutive charges.
Later that night, Elijah finds himself incarcerated at a juvenile correctional facility for a prank played on a police officer. When his mother comes to get him and is told he could not be released, Elijah is taken from her with both trying their best to get to one another. She assaults an officer by stabbing him with a pen and then is taken off to a mental institution. The officer she assaulted tried to stop her when she tries to take Elijah out of the facility. Elijah has one visit with his mother who is unaware of her surroundings due to obvious medication given from the facility. Elijah goes to bed that night with visions of Cee getting arrested and his mother being taken away.
The film picks up years later, and Elijah is now a sensitive adult with dreams of becoming an artist. He’s offered a spot at a prestigious art school under scholarship, but it gets taken away and is now unable to afford the tuition. Much to the chagrin of Cee who Elijah still sees through prison visits, Elijah considers a foray into the world of drug dealing. Though he eventually decides against that route, he winds up in jail for accidentally killing one of his foster brothers Big Pete (Fat Joe) by pushing him on to the subway tracks during an altercation. It’s there that Elijah is faced with a prison term of fifteen to life and endures hardships throughout his prison sentence. He gets the chance to escape but goes back and helps a friend who dies in his arms. He ends up getting stuck in between a four wall fence while holding an officer hostage and is then killed by a bullet to the chest.
The last scene in the movie features Elijah's work art of people he drew during his time in prison ending up an art gallery, as visitors walk around looking at each one.
Production
On the basis of his appearances on The Howard Stern Show, Insane Clown Posse member Joseph Bruce was offered a role as a bigoted prison guard, described by the producers as "a big white dude with urban slang to his voice".[1] Bruce turned the role down because he did not want to play a racist.[1]
Cast
- Q-Tip - Elijah Dixon
- Mary J. Blige - Mrs. Butler
- Harold Perrineau - Uncle Cee
- Fat Joe - Big Pete
- N.O.R.E. - Big Ski
- Brian A. Wilson - Prison C.O.
- Snow - Officer McIntyre
- Danny Hoch - Harris
- Mateo Gómez - Mr. Gonzalez
References
External links
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