We Grown Now – A Gut Punch Coming-Of-Age Drama

Time may change but something always stays the same, growing up is hard to do. The coming-of-age story is one that continues to resonate with audiences who see a part of themselves in the stories being told on screen. And in this day and age, the increasing diversity of these stories have allowed even more audiences the chance to see their own experiences reflected. When it comes to We Grown Now, though it may be short and simple, this nostalgic drama packs an emotional punch as it intimately explores the relationship between two young boys growing up under difficult circumstances. Putting a pair of young actors front and center in a film is always a challenger, more so for one as heavy as this one, but Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez both proved that they were more than up to the task, showing talent beyond their years. Outshining their more seasoned co-stars, the film looks to be a springboard to even greater opportunities in their future. While they are easily the best part of the film, their limited perspective also means that some larger issues were not covered as deeply as they could have.

We Grown Now takes place in the now defunct Cabrini-Green public housing complex in 1992 Chicago and follows Malik (James) and Eric (Ramirez), two young boys growing up amidst growing racial tension as gang activity ran rampant across their community. Mostly shielded by their respective parents, Malik’s mother Dolores (Smollett) and his grandmother Anita (S. Epatha Merkerson), as well as Eric’s father Jason (Lil Rel Howery), Malik and Eric did not come from the best of means but their families made the most out of what little they had. Though it wasn’t easy, they at least had each other. Living their all their lives, Cabrini-Green was all Malik and Eric knew as it was what brought them together and defined them. Through the good times and the bad times, the boys were intrinsically linked and had the rest of their lives ahead of them. However, their dream of living the rest of their lives together in the housing came under challenge. Offering audiences an intimate window into that bond, their imagination, eternally optimistic way in which they saw the world, and just seeing them being boys made for a compelling perspective and reprieve from the what was really going on in their backyard. That being said, it was only a matter of time until they would be pulled into that tension and things got real.

Dolores, already planning the next step for her family by providing them a better life elsewhere, a tragedy that hit close to home made it more complicated as she and Jason attempted to prepare their children for what was going on. This period allowed for moments of introspection as the boys are faced with the realities of their lives and the consequences following the loss of a child unfortunately caught in the crossfire of yet another incident of gang warfare. Finding themselves trapped in the middle of that uncertainty, Malik and Eric slowly grew further apart as their once strong bond began to fracture. Seeing the writing on the wall, there was some resentment there as Eric felt like he and Cabrini-Green were about to be left behind. As the film’s title suggested, the story, in the end, was about young boys having to grow up under circumstances that no young children should have to face, losing their innocence in the process. Defined by the housing complex where they lived all their lives, Malik and Eric were more than that as home was not a place but rather wherever the ones they love are.

Told from the perspective of two children, the film goes all in in terms of how it was shot. Making Chicago, and Cabrini-Green, another character in the story, it utilizes varying degrees of scale to highlight everything the city had to offer to honor their childlike sense of wonder. Capturing moments both big and small, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, its grounded and authentic approach only pulls audiences into Malik and Eric’s journey up until its gut punch ending. Keeping its focus on them, the film is a mere moment of their lives but using that history as a means to deliver social commentary about the history of Cabrini-Green, it delivers a well-rounded perspective that perhaps could have leaned more into the latter. Where We Grown Now may go too far for some is in the emotion department, be it certain heavy-handed lines of dialog or heavy-handed string-centric score that forces it at times.

The best part of We Grown Now is James and Ramirez’s phenomenal performances as Malik and Eric. The undisputed heart of the film, their excellent chemistry creates a believable best friend dynamic that is an absolute blast to watch (though Malik was more of a main character than Eric). From simply acting as young boys dreaming and fantasizing about the meaning of life tempered by an adorable naivety, to navigating the complex set of emotions that comes with accepting the very adult set of circumstances of their situation. Meanwhile, Howery plays Eric’s father James in a way that is much different than what audiences are used to seeing from the actor, playing it straight and showing off an impressive emotional range. Smollett was the adult of the film as Dolores, bringing warmth as she and Howery provided insulation for James and Ramirez.

At the end of the day, We Grown Now is a phenomenal coming-of-age indie drama that, in spite of its simplicity, packs a powerful emotional punch that will be hard to forget.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.