Review of Chi-Raq (2015) by Carol W — 05 Dec 2015

I wonder how many of the audience reviewers who have written negative reviews have seen Aristophanes' Lysistrata? Or how many have watched the youtube videos of Rev. Michael Pfleger? If you have, you might understand this movie better.

Although I do not listen to a lot of rap, I was impressed with how the poetry in the movie reminded me of the poetry of the original Greek play. The movie, like the original Greek play, combines comedy with a serious message.

The acting was good. I particularly liked the final scene in which Chi-Raq (Demetrius) confesses--I was going to write more about this but I don't want to put in too many spoilers.I enjoyed how Samuel Jackson (Dolmedes) did a modern version of the Greek chorus.

I was amused by some of the scenes in which powerful men were frustrated by the sexual refusals of their wives or partners. I wonder how Rahm Emanuel feels about his "bedroom scene." The movie would have been better if about 30 minutes were cut.

I could have done without the length of the sex scene near the end of the movie. I do not think that a woman as serious as Lysistrata would have consented to have her sex experience televised. It was clear that the film makers had a love for Chicago.

While the happy ending was a bit too perfect, I wish that all of this things would actually happen.