Trapped in the Closet 'Trapped in the Closet' contains a single chord progression. I am reliably informed that this is an "Am chord with C as pedal bass to an E-Major chord with B as a pedal bass". For a film that is sung throughout, this is no mean feat, and the predictability of Robert Kelly's vocals cements the plot's position as main attraction. This, perhaps, is the great failing of the project, jeopardising its status as the first true "hip-hopera".<br /><br />Hip-hop has, in recent years, become a major player (excuse the reviewer being down wit' the flo') in the televised media, and the prevalence of urban-styled videos on music channels surely made such an attempt inevitable. Many people will immediately observe similarities with the surprisingly underused rock-opera, and perhaps The Who's attempts will spring to mind. The immediate, advantage of 'Tommy' over 'Trapped' is that of variation. Whilst maintaining sufficient momentum within its story, 'Tommy' goes one step further, managing to produce not only a stream of interesting and distinct sounds, but indeed a few memorable classics. In his blatant refusal to omit describing any detail on the screen, to explore a situation on an emotional, digressional level, or even to throw in a new beat once an hour, Kelly destroys the film's potential as a musical device. It would seem fair to rebut this using the basic principles of rap. With its highly illustrative nature and foundations in slow, unimposing beats, a "hip-hopera" would likely be a methodical affair. As much as these tendencies stay true to the genre, anyone recalling The Streets' concept album 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' will appreciate the greater capacity of rap, utilising a myriad of interesting and, wait for it, relevant backing tracks to highlight the private thoughts and emotions of the narrator. It is a very delicate point to make, but I must highlight that R's picture is not suitable for those expecting to see developments in rhyme. Many verses end with identical expletives, and the reliance on the gangsta image makes the censored version solely suitable for those who can appreciate the inherent humour in missing every second word.<br /><br />So much (or perhaps so little) for the music. To its credit, the opening twelve chapters are remarkably fast-paced, each chapter consisting of 4 minutes of intense conflict with an assured cliff-hanger ending. This reflects more on the serialised nature of Trapped's release than an underlying theory, but it is undoubtedly a useful device in its desperate battle for your attention. However, depending on the viewer's mindset, the shock-tactics might appear to be a little old-hat, particularly in a society where many of the incidents detailed are rife. To spoil, slightly, the start of a very early plot line: Kelly is threatening to shoot an innocent clergyman whose wife he has been sleeping with, until, after much suspense, said clergyman is discovered to be GAY. For no apparent reason, the sexual tendencies of this as-yet irrelevant character cause Kelly great mental anguish, displaying (as do so many characters in a tale where everybody is cheating on their respective spouses) an all too clear sense of homophobia. The movie relies heavily on strange stereotypes, and one can readily imagine R and his crew (film, of course) sitting down with a list of 10 names to devise novel links between each. A could sleep with B, who is married to C, who had an affair with stripper D, whose physically challenged son E went to jail for stealing Mary-Jane of F, and so on ad infinitum. The end-result is a mess of interweaving actors, all being voiced by Kelly, and by the end of chapter 22, the landmark attained at the time of this review, you are left upset, confused and slightly irritated. Put simply, the viewer is not fully rewarded for his efforts.<br /><br />Chapter 22 revolves solely around an unexplained secret, and the vast number of characters that it remarkably affects. However, there are no clues as to what the promised continuation will centre around, or when it will actually be made. If you are the kind of person who could not live with watching the first two of the Godfather movies, steer well clear of 'Trapped'. The same message applies to anyone without a basic understanding of hip-hop, or one whose knowledge and selectiveness on the subject will be disappointed by the barrenness of the rap. The target audience is those whose lives share enough similarities with the characters that their issues appear real and critical. If you carry a gun/knife, or have experience cheating on a partner who turned out to be in similar shenanigans with a masochistic rabbi, then perhaps this film will ring true. Of course, those of you fully immersed in popular culture, who can view the disconsolate rapper with a cynical and condescending air; well, students, you know who you are...