Strive 2019

Director: Robert Rippberger

Writers: Sha-Risse Smith, Piper Dellums

Starring: Danny Glover, Joi Starr, Nicole Ehinger, Michelle Joyner, Scarlett Sperduto, Francesca Ruscio

Kalani (Joi Starr), is a teenager living in Harlem with her older brother Jacob, and her younger sister, Bebe, while her mother struggles to make ends meet. Her college counselor Mr. Rose (Danny Glover) sees great promise in her educational future. As Kalani’s siblings get caught in a myriad of hardships, Kalani teeters on the brink of ruin as she struggles to keep both her family and her dream intact. Strive reminds us that hard work, optimism, and perseverance, in the face of overwhelming adversity, is the essence of what it is to be American. 

Strive is a new drama from director Robert Rippberger which tells of a familiar story of someone trying to overcome the obstacles of family, adversity and prejudice to find a way out and follow her dreams. The story follows familiar ground and may not be the most original, but with the raw execution and some stand out performances at the heart of the film there is certainly something memorable.

Rippberger has a background in documentary filmmaking which is apparent in the execution, but it works favourably for the film as the raw fly on the wall style draws you into the drama. This works especially well during the grittier scenes of the film which reflect the hardships and dangers which they have to deal with on a daily basis. Be it an consequence of environment in which they live or in some cases an outcome from the decisions which they make.

Despite the film’s darker moments, the film does also look to show a different side to Harlem. The friendships and family devotions showing a more positive elements of the community and for Kalani a life outside of her everyday responsibilities. The camera also captures some stunning scenic shots of the buildings and surrounding areas, which illustrates the beauty of an urban landscape backdrop which is so easy overlooked.

The film moves further away from the documentary style when Kalani attends a party. The contrasting use of the dark lighting and the music create a surprisingly serene moment, where the pressures of family and schooling for Kalani are temporarily forgotten. The scene can almost feel misplaced with the rest of the film, but somehow the chemistry between the characters keep the environment grounded in reality which makes it work so well.

The highlight of the film is Joi Starr who portrays Kalani with a great depth and emotional weight in her performance. It seems like a constant battle as she is forced to deal with the wayward issues at home which are pulling her family apart. Then at school having to overcome the constant persecution, where her social standing and right to funded education is constantly question due to her underprivileged background. Starr has a strong personality and it shows in her performance, although it is often the more empathetic side of her performance where she really shines, especially in the scenes with younger sister Bebe (Shaylin Becton).

Starr also shows a vulnerability at times, which often occurred when she let her guard down whilst talking with Danny Glover as Mr Rose. A confident to Kalani, but also a also fatherly figure. They worked well off each other on screen and despite only having three brief moments Glover delivers moments which so brilliantly memorable and he makes every one count. When giving his advice he has a slow deliberate delivery, it makes you take notice of his words and reminded me of Angela Mayou whose quote we saw at the start of the film.

Despite the film strength I did feel that some of the issues with Kalani’s social standing and relationships are too brief and not fully explored. Areas such as the prejudice which she faces at school is something I feel could have been addressed more, especially with Kalani wanting to go on to further education as I feel this is a fundamental part of the journey. Having been raised early on in the film it is never really encountered again. Even though another scene does occur in the classroom, due to recent events outside of the school they do not follow the same tone. The same could also be said regarding overbearing advances relationship in her relationship. It feels as though this would be covered later in the film, but again it is never raised or mentioned again.

Reflecting on the film I can only assume the events regarding Kalani were not explored further, because the film looks intertwine several other issues involving the rest of the family. A decision I can understand as it helps to adopt a wider perspective of how their decisions effect each other, especially for Kalani is trying to hold them all together. These various events do add to the drama and it is done well, but with the story threading between the various lives it tends to dilute and lose focus of some of the main story with Kalani.

Strive is an excellent drama and although I did feel that there was some shortcomings in regard to the development of the story it is still brilliantly made. with a gritty realism it may not be a feel-good film, but there are some uplifting elements to the story which stop it from becoming too downtrodden in its misery. In the end there are some areas which I feel the film would have benefitted from had they had covered in more detail, but that doesn’t take away from what is a solid drama with great performances which makes this worth seeking out.

Philip Rogers

Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!