In the cinematic world of gangsters and drug dealers, kids are often portrayed as pawns, either serving or sacrificed for the larger game. In HBO’s iconic crime-drama The Wire, creator David Simon masterfully subverted this trope by dedicating an entire season (arguably the best in the series) to exploring how crime, crumbling institutions, and deep poverty impacted the lives of inner city kids in Baltimore. In an emotional season, we saw how four innocent children paid the cost for society’s failures and found themselves lost in the system. In this week’s Staff Pick Premiere, DRUG RUNNER, filmmaker Charlotte Regan takes us further into the psyche of a young kid with a gripping, step-by-step account of his journey into a life of crime.
Based on a series of interviews with a friend from Regan’s childhood, DRUG RUNNER is a powerful docu-drama told with unflinching candor that’s a testament to the unique trust shared between filmmaker and subject. Regan, whose previous work includes the BAFTA nominated and Staff Picked short ‘Stand By’, combed through hours of interviews to craft a film that’s somewhere between a testimony and instructional video. “I tried to keep it as instructional/step by step as I could,” recounts Regan. “I wanted it to be a really almost factual info film about this kid and what he went through.” As a result, the film looks past the typical villain/ hero narrative so often associated with these kinds of stories and focuses on a boy caught somewhere in the middle.
Drawn to the fast-cash lifestyle, the young boy quickly begins to earn real money and moves up the ranks. However, it’s the ability to support his single mother and sister with bills at home that keeps him in the game when the fun runs out. Reflecting on her experience witnessing her friends go through this, Regan explains, “I suppose it was kind of normalized, I think if you’re in a family that is struggling financially and the people around you are involved in this type of thing it’s easy to see it as an option. I always thought it was mad that these young kids had to step up and help their families at such a young age.”
Regan moves through the story quickly, an economical skill clearly perfected from years of directing low budget rap videos, and in the blink of an eye, a 15-year-old finds himself navigating the world of adults, drugs, and real consequences. “I really wanted to show that transition where the kid goes from thinking it’s the coolest job in the world and you’re feeling like Pablo Escobar to the almost devastation when the reality of it kicks in, the long nights, the cycling around, the constant suspicion,” explains Regan. Aided by a stoic performance by Mitchell Brown as the young boy, Regan delivers just that – an honest and gritty look at the grey area between peer pressure and financial need that can often lead kids down a dangerous path.
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