DVD Review: ATL

By Patrick Luce Jul 17, 2006, 17:23 GMT

ATL tells the story of four teens coming of age in a working class Atlanta neighborhood where hip-hop music and roller skating rule. As the group prepares for life after high school, challenges on and off the rink bring about turning points in each of their lives. The film is loosely based on Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins’ experiences growing up in Atlanta and hanging out at a local skating ...more

ATL takes different urban drama clichés from various film plots and combines them for a movie that is entertaining even if you don’t expect too much from it.

The film is the feature film debut of director Chris Robinson (who made a name for himself as a music video director) and features several stars of the hip-hop music genre including Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris and Antwan Andre Patton (also known as Big Boi of the duo OutKast). ATL writers include Antwone Fisher and is “loosely based” on the experiences of producers Dallas Austin (Drumline and a music producer) and Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins (from the R&B group TLC).

ATL is fairly straight forward in its plot and follows the lives of seventeen year old Rashad (Harris), his young brother Ant (Evan Ross), and their friends – Brooklyn (Albert Daniels), Esquire (Jackie Long), and Teddy (Jason Weaver). Rashad and his friends are seniors and are trying to figure out what’s next while hanging out at the local waffle house, and spending Sunday nights at the Cascade – a roller rink where everyone meets and Rashad and his friends plan to win the upcoming skating competition.

In addition to his life with his friends, Rashad has to look after his younger brother Ant (their parents died three years ago), deal with his uncle/boss who is their quasi guardian, and naturally finds love with New New – the girl who turns out to be rich and with a father from the hood who wants her to stay away from Rashad. Feeling the clichés yet?

The four friends live for Sunday at Cascade

Rashad glides through the first of the film with confidence and charm, and then crashes hard towards the end – when New New turns out to be rich (which he has a problem with for some reason); one of his friends betrays him (for not revealing New New’s secret); and he has to struggle with being without the guidance of his parents and being forced to be a parent to his brother.

While Rashad and friends are trying to find out what to do after high school, Ant is looking for ways to get paid. Enter Marcus (Big Boi) – the local drug dealer that drives around in the nice new truck with the killer rims. Ant sees the way Marcus is loaded and decides it is easy money.

Before you know it, he is dealing drugs and spending less time with his hard working big brother. It doesn’t take long for Ant to get busted for drugs at school, have a big clash with his brother, get mugged by rival drug dealers, and end up on Marcus’ hit list for not having the cash. This forces the inevitable showdown between Marcus and Rashad – which just also happens to take place at the same time as the skating competition.

Although the film is extremely predictable and has very few moments of originality, it does benefit from some good performances from Harris and Patton. Neither are Oscar caliber actors, but both hold their own in their roles.

Harris carries the confidence needed for Rashad at the beginning of the movie, and then shatters it as Rashad’s world becomes undone towards the end of the film. He also does a good job narrating the movie. However, the movie could have benefited from a more experienced actor in the role. At times, it seems that Harris is simply trying to mimic what other actors (namely Cuba Gooding Jr.) have done in similar themed movies – such as Boyz n the Hood. This can be seen in scenes where Rashad has a pistol shoved in his face, or where he breaks down towards the end.

With that said, I was surprised at how Harris managed to pull off the character, and keep you interested in what is happening on the screen despite the familiarity.

T.I. and Big Boi face off

The same comments can be said about Patton’s performance as Marcus. The performer is believable in the role, and always seems to have violence under the surface of every scene. His scenes where he sways Ant into becoming a drug dealer are extremely good, as are the confrontations between Harris and Patton.

Again, the film suffers in the fact that Marcus seems to be cut straight from every other urban crime film that has been made since 1991’s New Jack City. The character is slick, rich, and easily manipulates younger kids into working for him with promises of wealth. He is also extremely violent and cares only for his money – as seen when he beats his cousin for coming up short. Patton takes what the role has to offer and makes it work – even if you are familiar with the character and where the story is taking him.

The film also benefits from the side story between New New and Esquire. Their story shows the social elements of the film – such as a rich girl who wants to get in touch with her father’s poor roots, and a “poor” kid is struggling to make it out, but needs the recommendation of someone rich to make it. This is an interesting story and I wish more time could have been spent on it.

The DVD comes loaded with special features including T.I.’s music video for “What You Know;” additional scenes which explore the characters a bit more; In the Rink – A Director’s Journey which is a fairly standard look at the making of the film that also takes the time to explore some of Atlanta’s music scene with T.I.; and the film’s theatrical trailer.

Esquire and New New needed larger roles

While ATL is familiar and predictable, it is also entertaining as long as you know what you are getting. There is nothing really groundbreaking in the film, but there is nothing really wrong with it. I would recommend the movie to any fan of the music performers involved, or of urban social crime movies – such as Boyz N the Hood. It is a bit light by those standards, but it does manage to keep you entertained.

ATL is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.