Bosco (2024) Movie Review – So close to freedom, so far from a good biopic

So close to freedom, so far from a good biopic

In 2006, Quawntay “Bosco” Adams attempted to escape the confines of his prison cell so he could be there for the birth of his child. He was given 35 years in prison for attempted possession of marijuana, a sentence unheard of by today’s standards. All of this is the plot line of the biopic about his incarceration and the plan that he hatched so that his child would not have the kind of life that he did.

From the get-go, you can tell Bosco feels like a straight-to-streaming dump by Universal on their service, Peacock. There is not one moment in this film that would play like gangbusters on the big screen. Bosco keeps you primarily within the confines of the prison cell that Quwntay now stays in.

However, it never meanders; the film gets to work with his plan thanks to the narration from the lead character. A credit to Aubrey Joesph; he knows he has to shine in this title role and put the film on his back, and he does just that.

We are given quick flashbacks of beats throughout the film of his family and upbringing. Some of it is not clear and takes a few beats to catch on. These are usually scenes in the film that involve Tyrese Gibson as his father, Tootie, or Vivica A. Fox as his mother, Willa.

The dialogue in Bosco is a slog to get through; it’s hard to tell if the actors are missing their mark or if they’re just doing the best they can with lacklustre lines. However, to return to the narration for a moment, Boscos’ dialogue is pretty memorable and keeps you engaged.

Yet it is reeled back in by the fact that the movie is confined to small set pieces that bore the audience. Maybe the budget was low, but that does not mean you can’t get creative with it a little bit. We never leave this corridor of jail cells; it feels like the entire movie.

On the outside of all of this is Tammy, played by Nikki Blonsky, who, out of the gate, has our sympathy. So Bosco calls her up through a call center because he’s lonely; she visits him, and they have a strange relationship.

She’s lonely too and treated poorly by who we think is her trashy husband, played by Jim O’Heir. Yes, Jerry from Parks and Recreation shows up in a dramatic role for about twenty seconds of screen time. It’s actually really funny to see, even though the content of his screen time isn’t meant to be.

Some saving graces of this are Thomas Jane and Theo Rossi playing the stereotypical brutal prison warden and his number one guard. They’re a pair that has great bad-guy chemistry, but in the long run, it’s just more genre tropes for a prison film. This is a perfect spot to end with why Bosco leaves you feeling no empathy for the true story and man behind all of this.

When making movies about topics like racial injustice and the horrors of prison, it’s best to stay away from turning into a full-on prison break movie. Yes, that is a major plot point, but there has to be more of a dramatic arc to this event. We don’t care by the time he breaks out.

Truthfully, Quawntay is now out of prison in real life, giving back to the community, and raising his daughter to have the life he didn’t. It’s good to hear and gives you some satisfaction, but it does not sit with you for long. The film also grinds you down due to its slow pace, leaving it hard to have any sort of emotional investment in it by the time the credits roll.

Read More: Bosco Ending Explained

Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!