Donny Jackson (Keon Joel) has just been released from prison. He was convicted of a murder that was actually the fault of his corrupt, criminal-minded Uncle Tim (Marx Mitchell). As Donny explains it, he spent five years as a Marine, fighting in the desert, and then he came home to find the police waiting for him at the airport.
The only reason why Donny has been released early is because of his brother Jerry (Justin Ross Martin), a well-connected lawyer. From the minute Donny gets out of prison, it’s awkward. He has a huge tattoo on his neck and a manner that makes it clear that it’s been a while since he’s been able to let down his guard and trust anyone. He moves in with Jerry and his wife (Melissa Chick) but he’s haunted not just be his time in prison but also by what he saw while serving in the Middle East.
His probation officer finds him a job as a maintenance worker at a dance studio. That’s where he meets Claire (Isabella Olivas), a dance instructor who doesn’t flinch when Donny tells her that he was in prison for murder. Claire can see who Donny is on the inside. (Claire’s father claims that Claire has a weakness for people who need someone to fix them.) Donny and Claire start to fall for each other. But then Uncle Tim shows up….
2024’s Dance is a low-key and low budget film about redemption and I really liked it. I appreciated that neither Donny nor Claire were idealized. Donny wasn’t portrayed as just being a victim of the system. Instead, he was someone who was frequently his own worse enemy. Claire’s compassion felt real but so did her family’s concern. This wasn’t one of those films where love was able to magically solve every problem. I also appreciated the way that Claire’s love of dancing was incorporated into the movie. Again, this wasn’t one of those dance films where Claire and Donny were suddenly perfect dance partners. This isn’t the type of dance film where all of the problems in the world are solved by coming in first in some competition. Instead, it was a film about two damaged people trying to make a connection.
I appreciated that the film dealt with the difficulty that that recent incarcerated often have when trying to adjust to life on the outside. After I graduated from college, I worked as an administrative assistant in a law office and I got see firsthand how crime and incarceration was often a never-ending cycle. Someone committed a crime. They went to jail. When they got out of jail, they were required to get a job but very few people were willing to hire anyone with a criminal record. When someone is released into a world where they don’t have any real prospects, it shouldn’t be a surprise when they return to doing the stuff that got them sent to jail in the first place. Crime becomes a career and doing time just becomes a part of the job. It’s a viscous cycle and one that Dance seemed to understand.
Finally, I should mention that Dance was at least partially shot in Carrollton, Texas. The fact that it was shot in a real town as opposed to some glitzy recreation of a town adds to the film’s effectiveness. Dance is a real story that takes place in the real world.
