Milwaukee-Based Production Company Creates Movie to Shed Light on Relationships
Milwaukee-based production company creates movie to shed light on women dynamics and strained family relationships. (Picture provided by Ramon Sloan)
Milwaukee writer and producer Ramon Sloan created the movie “Untangled” to bring relatable stories in front of people with a unique perspective.
“I wanted to show Black women in a different light,” Sloan said.
The movie follows Malik, who is experiencing strained relationships with his family, including two women he’s involved with. The man struggles with being a provider for his family as he goes through his battle within himself. Malik’s marriage is on the verge of divorce because of his mistress Tasha. Malik deals with his betrayal of his wife Diana, and the mental health issues Tasha goes through.
Untangled reflected on the dynamics of a family unit. (Picture by Ramon Sloan)
Sloan says that he wanted to portray Black women in relationships differently.
“Usually, women would be violent against one another,” he said. “They want to harm one another. They want to have issues with one another. In the movie, Diana tells Tasha, ‘Me and you will have no problem with each other based on the choices Malik made.’ We agreed that we wanted to add that because that’s not how Black women are portrayed.”
Co-producer of the movie Erin McKenzie said that they wanted the women to play out a more mature conversation about what’s happening at the moment.
“Hopefully, the viewers watching the film will take away a more peaceful resolution to situations,” she said.
Untangled also touches on the father-and-son dynamic, with Malik dealing with this strained relationship with his son.
“Malik feels like his father was not there for him growing up,” Sloan said. “That’s why the movie is named Untangled because it is Malik dealing with complicated relationships with his father that transfers over to his love triangle with the wife and mistress.”
Writer and producer Ramon Sloan wanted to put Milwaukee on the map for filmmaking with his movie Untangled. (Picture provided by Ramon Sloan)
Sloan co-wrote the screenplay alongside Dewayne Edwards and McKenzie. His father, Ron Sloan Sr., was the co-executive producer, and Steven Love co-produced with McKenzie. The all-star cast includes Hip-Hop artist Kaylee Crossfire, known for her appearance on the Netflix hit series Rhythm & Flow. Jamal Woolard is also in the movie; the actor is known for portraying Hip-Hop legend Notorious B.I.G. in the major motion picture Notorious in 2016.
Building out the production company and casting the movie in Milwaukee was a significant accomplishment for Sloan. He said that he is excited to get the chance to help people live out their dreams; Sloan added that many Milwaukeeans don’t believe they have the opportunity to do the same.
“It’s not an easy thing to create and produce these films,” Sloan said. “From a talent standpoint, living out your dreams and making a career out of acting, especially in Milwaukee, we take a lot of pride in allowing people to do so.”
Sloan wants to continue to build the film industry in Milwaukee, so he created the Swift Motion Pictures Movie Mastery Class to inspire the next generation of creatives while helping put the community on the map for filmmaking.
"Our goal is to continue telling stories that entertain and to deliver some with meaning,” he said.
Untangled can be streamed on Amazon and other streaming platforms.