Poster
A young gang member turns his life around in prison, thanks to the friendship he forms with a convicted murderer who becomes his mentor.
Jamesy Boy is a 2014 American crime drama film directed by Trevor White and written by White and Lane Shadgett. The film stars Spencer Lofranco, Mary-Louise Parker, Taissa Farmiga and James Woods. It tells the true story of ex-convict James Burns. The film was released on January 3, 2014 via Video on Demand, and in select theaters on January 17, 2014.
Cast
- Spencer Lofranco as James
- Mary-Louise Parker as Tracy
- Taissa Farmiga as Sarah
- James Woods as Lt Falton
- Ving Rhames as Conrad
- Rosa Salazar as Crystal
- Michael Trotter as Roc
- Ben Rosenfield as Chris
- Taboo as Guillermo
- Keon Clayton as Drew
Plot
James Burns (Spencer Lofranco), a young gang member is in prison for
selling guns, drug possession and illegal possession of a firearm. Some
years earlier, his mother Tracy (Mary-Louise Parker)
attempted to enroll him in school, but was told that he could not
enroll because of his history of violent behavior. One night, James
meets Crystal (Rosa Salazar)
and Drew (Keon Clayton) after they steal from a convenience store he's
in. The two befriend James and he tells them that he is under house
arrest after his mother called the police when he brought home a gun.
Crystal tells James about Roc, a guy they do odd jobs for and offers him
a chance to get in on it. James' mother reads his diary and finds out
what he's been doing. She reminds him that they are close to his legal
appeal. He defies his domestic incarceration by cutting off his ankle
bracelet.
James arrives at Roc's house asking how he can make money. He proves
himself when he doesn't flinch after Roc puts a gun to his crotch. Roc
asks James to be the getaway driver when he and his crew break into a
rival drug dealers house. Sitting behind the wheel, James sees the
homeowner sneak in the front door with a gun. James sneaks in through
the back door and sees that Roc and his friend are at gunpoint. He hits
one of the guys over the head with a frying pan, allowing Roc and the
gang to get away. Back at the car, Roc tells James that he has earned
his respect. Roc offers James a chance to work for him full-time. James
immediately says yes. At a party, he tells Crystal that he has broken
ties with his mother. James and Crystal are horsing around in a
convenience store. When James tries to buy cigarettes and liquor, the
cashier, Sarah (Taissa Farmiga),
tells him to take it as she doesn't want any trouble. While at a strip
club, Drew points James in the direction of a man who owes Roc money.
Bursting into the man's office, James pulls a gun on the man but his
thugs break in and beat up Drew and James and then throw them into the
alley. James runs to the parking lot and busts the windows out of the
man's car and finds a bag of guns in the back seat.
Later, while cleaning up his wounds, Crystal warns James that he's
being too fast and loose. He goes for a walk and ends up back at the
convenience store where he meets Sarah again. He makes friends with her
and the two share a smoke. James runs into Roc who is upset over the
confrontation with the thug. He pulls a gun on James and reveals that
he's angry over the bag of guns and orders him to fix the situation.
James goes to the store and finds Sarah again. They go for a walk and
get to know one another. He sees in Sarah the potential for a normal
life, and begins a relationship with her. James tries to leave Roc's
crew. Crystal says she knows that he's been hanging out with Sarah. She
calls him pathetic but she cries when he leaves. He runs into Roc who is
offended that he is trying to walk away. He tells James that there is a
deal going down that night. He plays on James' emotions and gets him to
agree to go in on the deal. That night, James and Drew show up to sell
the guns, but a shoot out breaks out. The cops show up but James walks
away. He runs to Sarah's house and tells her to pack so they can leave
town together. She refuses, leaving him alone to face his crimes.
In the present day, James makes an enemy in fellow prisoner Guillermo (Taboo),
a Hispanic gang member who is picking on a new inmate. Later,
Guillermo's gang attempt to kill James in the shower but he fights back.
Another inmate, Chris (Ben Rosenfield),
is stabbed in the stomach. Later, Falton asks him for answers, but
James won't talk and is thrown in solitary confinement. Days after the
attack, James has nightmares about the attack on him and Chris in the
shower. One night, he wakes up and asks the inmate in the next cell, an
older man named Conrad (Ving Rhames)
for something to read, but the man says he doesn't want to talk to him.
In line, James finds himself behind Conrad and notices that he carries a
book about Rio de Janeiro,
and asks him about travel. Again, the man says he doesn't want to talk
to him. The next day, in his cell, he tries to talk again but to no
avail. In the yard the next day, he tries a fourth time. The man finally
breaks his silence when James admits that he wants revenge for the guys
who stabbed Chris. Conrad laughs and informs him that he is really no
different than any of the other inmate. At night, he starts writing
poetry and uses it to strike up a conversation with Conrad. He tells
James to keep writing in order to block out life in prison.
Worried about Chris, James goes to Lt. Falton (James Woods)
and requests that Chris be taken out of the yard until his hearing for
his own safety. Falton refuses mainly because James wouldn't give a
statement immediately following the stabbing. In the yard the next day,
Guillermo tells James that he knows he's been talking to Falton and that
it will be fatal for him to mention him or his gang. Guillermo tries to
start a fight, but James walks away. Several weeks later, Chris hangs
himself in the hallway after getting another 6 years. Out of anger,
James beats up Guillermo. Later, James starts a fight in the yard, but
Conrad breaks it up telling James that he needs to keep his head about
him because he is one day away from his hearing. His flippant attitude
causes Conrad to threaten him.
At his hearing, James admits regret over Chris' death and that he has
regrets over the decisions he has made in his life. He knows that
people will judge him for the rest of his life, but he takes
responsibility for everything he has ever done, even if it means he has
to sit in jail for another 4 to 6 years. He is released from prison. Out
of jail, he gets a job as a janitor. One night a friend comes by and
offers him some work, but he turns it down. Arriving back at Sarah's
father's store, he finds that it is now closed and boarded up. He goes
to her house but her father says that she doesn't live there anymore. He
finds her at her new house, where she informs him she got engaged to
someone else. They talk, and he recites some of his poetry for her. The
film with a montage of the things he is currently doing to set himself
straight, including getting an apartment.
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