"Born by myself, die by myself."
Remixes a decade of American crime cinema (including Ferrara, De Palma and Bill Duke) with a form of experimental hip-hop expressionism. A blaxploitation purification story told in idiosyncratic compositions drenched in passionate colors and sudden, incomprehensible explosions of violence. Doesn't care about narrative coherency as much as it cares about capturing the intense feelings of its dark, oppressive environment; an entire network of pressure, isolation, and brutality that only ever gives you the illusion of individual choice/power. DMX plays it exactly right, all self-assured authority until it's hollowed out and crushed and offered a chance to rebuild. Don't know what I was expecting when I turned this on but I did not expect to be thinking about Takeshi Kitano or Seijun Suzuki. It's a crime that Hype Williams didn't get to develop this style further and that DMX didn't get to act in more movies than he did. RIP to a king.