You don't just watch To Live and Die and Live—you feel it. The official trailer for Qasim Basir's Sundance standout isn't your typical addiction drama. It's a love letter and a eulogy, all at once. Detroit isn't just the setting; it's a character, pulsing with late-night temptations and hard-won truths.
Most addiction stories fetishize rock bottom. Basir's film? It's about the limbo—the space between drowning and deciding to swim. Amin Joseph's Muhammad isn't a stereotype; he's a man hiding his cracks behind a sharp suit and a weary smile. The trailer's most haunting moment? A split-second shot of him staring into a bathroom mirror, the reflection blurring like his grip on sobriety.
Hollywood loves addiction narratives—when they're about white pain (Beautiful Boy, The Fighter). But Black addiction? Too often, it's reduced to crack dens and crime. Basir flips the script: Muhammad's demons wear designer cologne. The film's Detroit isn't ruin porn; it's alive, intoxicating, and real.
“To talk about addiction through the eyes of black people, who aren't depicted as crackheads.” —Qasim Basir
Remember Moonlight? It rewrote Black male vulnerability. To Live and Die and Live could do the same for addiction narratives. And with Forest Whitaker producing, it's got the muscle to push boundaries.
This isn't just a movie—it's a mirror. Who's brave enough to look? To Live and Die and Live hits theaters May 16. Will you be there?
