Chi-Raq (Nick Cannon) shows off his mic skills before gunfire erupts in “Chi-Raq”. Photo by Parrish Lewis.
From racially-charged police brutality and mass shootings within the United States to terrorist attacks in Europe and ongoing strife in the Middle East, sociopolitical tension is on the rise around the world. Never one to shy away from such subjects, Spike Lee provides his unique brand of cinematic insight with Chi-Raq, a film that addresses gang and gun-related violence in Chicago’s south side. As we learn in the film’s extended opening featuring Nick Cannon‘s hip-hop lyrics juxtaposed with statistics comparing Chicago’s bodycount to the number of American’s who’ve died in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, the unflattering nickname Chi-Raq is a mashup of Chicago and Iraq.
The fact that most of the dialogue is spoken in rhymes is fitting considering that Cannon plays the film’s namesake character: an aspiring rapper and leader of the purple-clad gang known as the Spartans. The reason for the poetic delivery, however, is more Greek theater than street posturing as the movie is a retelling of Lysistrata, the Aristophanes play in which Greek women deny soldiers sex in order to end the Peloponnesian War. In the case of Chi-Raq, however, Cannon’s Spartans do battle with a gang of orange-outfitted Trojans led by Cyclops (an eye-patched Wesley Snipes). After gang violence ends one of Chi-Raq’s concerts (as well her post-concert romp with the rising rap star) and a stray bullet from a drive-by takes the life of an innocent child, Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) takes the advice of her mother Miss Helen (Angela Bassett), rallying the gangbanging girlfriends to go on a sex strike until the violence ends.
Teyonah Parris leads an empowering protest as Lysistrata. Photo by Parrish Lewis.
Samuel L. Jackson is Dolmedes, the pimped-out narrator of the story whose name sounds a lot like Dolemite when Lysistrata addresses him (fitting, given the blaxploitative feel of this movie). Dolmedes steps in occasionally to add emphasis and humor to the on-screen developments, which become more and more satirical the longer the pussy protesting is prolonged. From a frustrated strip club owner (Dave Chappelle) to Mayor McCloud (D.B. Sweeney), the men of the neighborhood become more and more frustrated, plotting for ways to convince the women to let them unload their proverbial guns. (Particularly entertaining, despite only being a minor character, is the neurotic Oedipus, played by Wade F. Wilson, preoccupied with upsetting his mother.) Meanwhile, the power of denying their private parts is further exemplified when Lysistrata leads the women in quickly overtaking and occupying a military facility with seduction being their only ammunition, inspiring similar protests around the world, as shown by news reports.
Despite its grim subject matter, Chi-Raq, like the Greek comedy on which it’s based, is rich in satire and talent. So much so that John Cusack as a white preacher in a predominantly black church (an odd bit of casting that is explained during an encounter with Chi-Raq later in the film) plays a supporting role and Mrs. David Otunga (better known as Jennifer Hudson) seems to get even less screen time. But this ensemble cast provides the right mix of star power to properly deliver Lee’s messages while letting a rising star shine in Parris.