We Grown Now (2023)

We greatly enjoyed this story of ten year old best friends Malik and Eric in the 1992 Cabrini-Green public housing complex in Chicago. My memory is sketchy since we watched it over four months ago (more on that in a moment), but I jotted down the word transcendent. I've since been reminded that a seven year old boy was killed by a stray bullet there that year.

Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez play the boys and their families include Jurnee Smollett, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Lil Rel Howery.

Written and directed by Minhal Baig, it has mostly Chicago locations, including interiors in the Art Institute of Chicago. This spoiler-free article can tell you more about her.

I'm streaming the soundtrack by Jay Wadley and Attaca Quartet on Apple Music.

Watch for still photos over the early end credits.

Howery was last blogged for Spin Me Round and Wadley for Fire Island. This is James' third feature and Ramirez' first. Smollett was much lauded for the title role in Eve's Bayou (1997), and The Great Debaters (2007). Her dozens of credits include seven episodes of Parenthood in 2013. Merkerson, briefly mentioned in Mother and Child, is best known for 391 episodes of Law & Order. This is Baig's third feature.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are maturely averaging 93 and 90%. We watched it February 10 on a screener I obtained as a member of the Independent Feature Project--we get to preview movies nominated for Spirit Awards, and this one had three. No wins there but it won two at the Chicago International Film Festival and one in Toronto. It opened in April in the major cities and is now, finally, available to rent on all the major platforms.