Sundance Review: ‘Ricky’ is a Tough Watch with a Strong Message and Performances
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 9:00AM 
There have been many films made about people getting out of prison and struggling to restart their lives. It’s rarely an easy journey and typically includes the threat of re-incarceration due to an inability to find work or a stable support system. Rashad Frett’s Ricky is the latest to explore this premise, and it does so in a gritty, realistic manner that speaks to the incredible challenges presented at every turn when someone only has good intentions but just isn’t able to fully control what happens to them...
Ricky (Stephan James) is released from prison and returns to his hometown in Connecticut. Shortly after meeting Jaz (Imani Lewis) and offering her young son a haircut, he nearly gets shot following a random run-in with the wrong people. He has some hope that he can buy a classic car from Leslie (Titus Welliver), the military veteran who steps in to save him, but he has much bigger things to worry about, namely finding a new job after being fired by a friend because he was told to run a background check, and staying on top of the responsibilities mandated by his no-nonsense parole officer Joanne (Sheryl Lee Ralph).
This film, based on Frett’s short and developed as part of the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriting Lab, is not an easy watch. While it’s not full of onscreen violence and very little of it actually takes place in prison, it burdens Ricky with so much and so many unfortunate circumstances that he didn’t cause but wasn’t able to effectively prevent. He reveals to a fellow formerly incarcerated individual, Cheryl (Andrene Ward-Hammond), that he is now thirty years old and spent fifteen years in jail, indicating that he doesn’t have a true understanding of what it’s like to be an adult in the world.
As a result, Ricky is extremely reserved and doesn’t know how best to communicate his feelings. Sometimes, that leads to overreactions or threats of violence, and in other situations, he just doesn’t say enough for those who want to be close to him, like Jaz and Cheryl, to be able to ask him the right questions to get to know him better. He has a complicated relationship with his mother Winsome (Simbi Kali) and his brother James (Maliq Johnson), but now depends on them for rides to meetings with Joanne and anywhere else he needs to go. It’s not a good spot to be in, and Ricky is in no way set up for success, even if Joanne’s brutally tough love is ultimately motivated by a long-standing, if contentious, relationship with his family and a desire not to see him back in prison.
James, whose 2018 breakout year saw him in leading roles in both If Beale Street Could Talk and season one of Prime Video’s Homecoming, has not yet become the high-profile star his talent indicates. Following small but memorable supporting turns in Babes and The Piano Lesson last year, he takes on this part, which asks him to convey so much without speaking. He responds to that demand with nuance and poignancy, merging deep-seated fury at the world with a somewhat stable respect for authority learned from years of subjugation. It’s a solid turn that makes this film what it is. Ralph, the beloved Emmy winner from Abbott Elementary, is sharp and intense as someone who truly believes in her challenging work, and the rest of the cast serve as worthwhile scene partners for James as Ricky navigates his small social circle.
This film is serious and at times devastating, and may be more than some audiences can take in terms of the increasingly heavy load it puts on its protagonist. That overwhelming sense of hopelessness may, however, be the point, underscoring Ricky’s role as a representative of someone that society hasn’t necessarily failed but hasn’t done nearly enough to give him a shot at redemption. B
Ricky makes its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Reader Comments (1)
Great review - thank you!! Thought he was great in If Beale Street Ciould Talk so I’m glad he has another starring role in this film. Excited to see it!!