Living with mom, cracking jokes and exploring an artistic dream, this is how we met the main character in “The King of Staten Island,” Scott. The film explores the life of Scott who is played by Pete Davidson. The story loosely reflects Davidson’s actual life as his father, who died as a firefighter during the 9/11 attacks. During the film, we journey with Scott as he reveals the layers of trauma associated with his father’s death.
Davidson’s acting is raw and real as he pulls from emotions that he experienced in his own personal life. He uses humor to make jabs at the unfortunate situation to expose his own discomfort with life. Throughout the film we meet various characters that challenge Davidson and his outlook on life.
His mother begins dating a new man, and this starts to turn Scott’s life upside-down. Ironically, his mother’s new boyfriend is also a firefighter, and this strikes rage within Scott. He clearly has not been able to let go of what happened to his father. This difficult relationship pushes the characters to face death and to decide if they are able to move on or not. We see his mother and sister accept this new man into their life, but Scott cannot do the same.
One of the most profound moments of the film takes place when we see Scott venture back to the fire station that his father worked at. This raw moment shocks everyone around him because he was not taking the same life path as his father.
As bonds begin to form and new friendships arise within Scott’s life we see his guard begin to come down and life begins to improve.
I highly recommend this film for those who enjoy dark humor and films with self growth. The film will not blow you away with action scenes or give you any jump scares, but it offers self-reflection and growth. The journey we take with our characters shows how trauma can be recovered, no matter how much time has passed.
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