Canal Street

Release Date:  1/18/19; In Theaters
Genre:  Drama/Thriller
Rating:  NR
Running Time:  Unknown
Director:  Rhyan LaMarr
Studio(s):   BondIt, Canal Street, NYC Films, Red Guerilla Productions, Smith Global Media
Cast:  Mykelti Williamson (Jackie Styles), Bryshere Y. Gray (Kholi Styles), Clayne Crawford (Brian), Yancey Arias (D. J. Wado), Lance Reddick (Jerry Shaw), Mekhi Phifer (Prosecutor A.J. Canton), Michael Beach (Ronald Morgan), Harry Lennix (DJ Terrance Palmer).

Story:  The story centers on a father and his teenage son who uproot from the South Side of Chicago and move to Winnetka after a death in the family.  The fish-out-of-water lead-up in Canal Street — moving from the South Side and readjusting to life in Winnetka — is something of a fake-out, and the story soon takes an entirely different turn.  Writer-director Rhyan LaMarr states, “The son, his name is Kholi, eventually befriends Brian, a jock at the school. They end up getting invited to a homecoming party, and Kholi brings some of his friends from the old neighborhood. At the end of the night, kids being kids, they’ve been drinking, Kholi gives Brian a ride home, and then he’s going to drop his friends from the South Side off at the Red Line.

Halfway to the train, he realizes Brian has left his wallet in the car, so he turns around and he’s headed back to drop the wallet off when he sees a body lying in front of the house — and it’s Brian. Kholi’s friends are like, ‘It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and we’re in the wrong neighborhood — we need to leave.’ But Kholi, being the guy he is, says, ‘I’m not going to leave him like this’ … and in a matter of minutes, Kholi is pinned for the murder.”  Kholi’s father is an attorney and takes up his son’s case.   Source:  Chicago Tribune.

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