Narco flick, ‘King Ivory’ is more action than brains
The anti-fentanyl message the muscular “King Ivory” seeks to convey gets snarled in too much “Traffic” to make a full impact. But as a straight-up action picture, it’s pretty damn good. It’s chintzy, but addictive, with guns ablaze and macho posturing cranked to 11 in depicting a national scourge from multiple perspectives.
At the top of this tough-guy pyramid stands the commanding presence of the vastly underrated James Badge Dale as Tulsa drug enforcement officer Layne West, a God-fearing family man adored by his peers almost as much as dealers dread him. He’s Dudley Do-Right minus the charisma. But as a father, he’s a tad clueless about Jack (Jasper Jones), his cocky adolescent son from his first marriage and, unbeknownst to him, a raging fentanyl addict.
This, of course, is a scenario lifted whole cloth from Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” in which Michael Douglas played a presidential-appointed drug czar whose daughter, unbeknownst to him, was strung out on coke and smack. It’s hardly the only story arc writer-director John Swab brazenly “borrows” from that 2000 Oscar-winner. He also makes us privy to the view from the other side, where drug kingpins like Graham Greene’s Holt Lightfeather thrive on an indestructible business model built upon the axiom of Whac-A-Mole.
We’re also introduced to a handful of members of his rank-and-file, most notably Ben Foster’s George “Smiley” Greene and Michael Mondo’s Ramón Garza. They operate separately, with Greene – abetted by his maniacal mama, Ginger (Melissa Leo), and oafish uncle, Mickey (Ritchie Coster) – serving as an industrious hitman, and Garza in charge of the managerial end. For the latter, that entails hiring undocumented teens like David De La Barcena’s Lago, whose pursuit of the American dream begins with a job delivering – Grubhub style – little balls of fentanyl to a variety of customers, from junkies to – what are the odds? – Jack West’s girlfriend, Colby (Kaylee Curry).
Isn’t it clever how everyone on the fentanyl foodchain connects in some manner? Yup, that was pinched from “Traffic,” too. But at least Soderbergh can’t say he spoke from experience like Swab, a Tulsa native who spent nearly a decade under the influence of fentanyl. He says he’s been clean now for close to 10 years, and that “King Ivory” (street slang for fentanyl) is his heartfelt attempt to call attention to the deadly menace, as well as making the case that it’s just another cog in – stop the presses – an unwinnable war against narcotics.
So, what’s his point? Well, there isn’t one, other than to note that fentanyl, like crack cocaine and heroin, is a drug du jour that will eventually give way to newer, more powerful ones. If there’s something we can do about that, Swab isn’t letting on. If anything, he’s merely exploiting it as fodder for a hard-nosed action pic in which white hats smoke black hats in a cathartic display of Old West justice.
And where better than to stage his modern version of the shootout at the O.K. Corral than in Tulsa, Oklahoma? It’s Swab’s way of reminding us that crime and drugs are not a problem exclusive to metropolises like New York, Chicago and L.A. It’s happening in Tulsa, too, a mid-sized city that’s a real-life epicenter in the crisis.
Swab hailing from there, adds a dose of authenticity to the proceedings. But let’s not kid ourselves. The only asset that renders “King Ivory” worth your time is its easy thrills. In that respect, Swab delivers a euphoric high, courtesy of wild shootouts, a rapidly escalating body count and sexy young actors in Jones and Curry, who must be the most glamorous drug abusers since John Travolta and Uma Thurman in “Pulp Fiction.”
So, what’s the takeaway? Not much, other than life is cheap and that parents had better wake up and heed the warning signs if they ever hope to see their teens avoid the grave and/or state prison. The latter is where Greene’s Lightfeather calls home. It’s also the headquarters for his multi-million-dollar enterprise. And Greene, sporting a mean Mohawk in one of the late actor’s final roles, is sufficiently chilling, especially his climactic showdown with Dale’s Layne West.
As is their style, Swab and director of photography Will Stone shoot that confrontation in extreme closeup. It’s a device they indulge way too much. I suppose there was an artistic statement to be made by repeatedly jamming a camera into the characters’ faces, but what that is escapes me. If anything, I found it distracting, not to mention a tad creepy. Who wants to be looking into every pore and hair follicle, even if the actor is as handsome as Badge?
Swab redeems himself somewhat by keeping the story moving along at a brisk pace, rarely providing time for you to think. It’s as if he knows that if he dares let off the gas, we might start asking questions he’s unprepared to answer. Like, why does Foster’s Irish mobster, Smiley, talk through a tracheostomy tube? Or why does Dale’s partner, Ty (George Carroll), ill-advisedly shun protocol by entering the backroom of a grocery store alone and wearing a flak jacket that protects only his chest? Predictably, the perp springs out of nowhere and fires a slug point-blank into Ty’s gut. It defies all logic.
Yet, I cannot complain about any of the performances or the film’s propulsive pace. It’s everything a mindless action picture should be. And when taken in the vein of unsophisticated thrills, “King Ivory” generously supplies all the dope you’ll need.
Movie review
King Ivory
Rated: R for strong graphic violence, language, drug use and some sexuality
Cast: James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Michael Mando, Graham Greene, Melissa Leo, Jasper Jones and Ritchie Coster
Director: John Swab
Writer: John Swab
Runtime: 129 minutes
Where: In theaters Nov. 14
Grade: B-
