neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Paid In Full
	Charles Stone III Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, Cam'Ron, Kevin Carroll, Esai Morales, Regina Hall, Elise Neal, Chi McBride 2002		A violent, no-nonsense crime drama set in Harlem during the 1980s. "Paid in Full," which shares a title with the vintage Erik B. and Rakim rap hit used on the film's soundtrack, chronicles the rise and fall of Ace, a young man lured into drug dealing by the promise of fast money. Elements of Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" and "Goodfellas" and Ted Demme's "Blow" are recalled in the screenplay, and actual footage from Brian DePalma's "Scarface" is used in the middle of the movie as a touchstone for the story's inner-city coke vendors. But nothing is ponderously derivative. The dense, rapid-fire dialogue, laden with the f-word and thick with ghetto patois, rings true from the first scene on, and director Charles Stone III keeps the flow going. Although a couple of lesser characters and relationships are fuzzy, Wood Harris delivers a complex, resonant performance as Ace, complemented by Mekhi Phifer ("O") as Mitch, the high-rolling friend who inspires Ace's decision to deal, and rapper Cam'Ron as the gun-happy Rico. With Kevin Carroll, Esai Morales, Regina Hall and Chi McBride.