Ben Foster, David De La Barcena, drama, film festivals, George Carroll, Graham Greene, James Badge Dale, James Whitecloud, Jasper Jones, John Swab, Kaylee Curry, King Ivory, Melissa Leo, Michael Mando, movies, Oklahoma, reviews, Ritchie Coster, Sam Quartin, Venice International Film Festival
January 6, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by John Swab
Some language in Spanish with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Oklahoma and in Mexico, the dramatic film “King Ivory” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some Latin people and Native Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Various people are affected by the fetanyl drug trade, including a drug law enforcement officer; his teenage son who gets hooked on fentanyl; and the drug traffickers who want to keep their business thriving by any means necessary.
Culture Audience: “King Ivory” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and can tolerate watching often-violent dramas with intertwined storylines about the effects of drug trafficking.
“King Ivory” is a flawed but absorbing drama with multiple storylines about people affected by the buying and selling of fentanyl. The talented acting performances hold the movie together during the most cumbersome moments. The second half of the movie is better than the first half.
Written and directed by John Swab, “King Ivory” gets it title from King Ivory being one of the street nicknames for fentanyl, an opioid that is more potent than heroin. “King ivory” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival. The movie takes place in Oklahoma and in Mexico. “King Ivory” was filmed in Oklahoma.
“King Ivory” begins by showing two drug dealers getting shipment of raw fentanyl on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, near Sinaloa, Mexico. The movie then abruptly cuts to a brutal raid of a drug dealer’s house in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A team of officers, led by Layne West (played by James Badge Dale), storm through the house. A shootout ensues, resulting in the deaths of the drug dealer and a woman in an upstairs bedroom. A boy, who’s about 5 or 6 years old, is found hiding in fear in a bathroom.
It’s just another day for Layne, a drug enforcement officer, who is able to keep his personal life and his career separate until these two worlds come crashing together when his teenage son Jack (played by Jasper Jones) becomes addicted to fentanyl. Layne’s work colleagues include his partner Ty Grady (played by George Carroll) and FBI counterpart Beatty (played by Rory Cochrane), who are fighting an uphill battle to stop the flow of fentanyl into Oklahoma.
“King Ivory” jumps back and forth between the storyline of the West family (which includes Layne’s wife Tess West, played by Sam Quartin) and storylines for some of the criminals responsible for trafficking fentanyl in the Tulsa area. These drug traffickers include Ramón Garza (played by Michael Mando), a bilingual Mexican cartel worker who recruits desperate Mexican immigrants to work for him; Holt Lightfeather (played by Graham Greene), an incarcerated Indian Brotherhood War chief, who runs a drug operation from Oklahoma State Penitentiary (also known as Big Mac) in McAlester, Oklahoma; and three family members of the local Irish Mafia: cold-blooded killer George “Smiley” Greene (played by Ben Foster), who is released from Big Mac during the course of the story; Smiley’s doting single mother Ginger Greene (played by Melissa Leo); and Smiley’s meth-addicted uncle Mickey (played by Ritchie Coster), who is a confidential informant for the police.
Other characters in the movie include a bilingual Mexican immigrant named Lago (played by David De La Barcena), who is mentored by Ramón; Jack’s girlfriend Colby (played by Kaylee Curry), who introduces him to fentanyl and who is a customer of Lago’s; and Brotherhood War member Jai (played by James Whitecloud), who works with Smiley after Smiley is released from prison. “King Ivory” weaves all of these storylines together in a way that isn’t always seamless, but the movie could hold viewers’ interest to see how it will end.
The acting performances move the story forward, even if some of the dialogue and scenarios are very stereotypical. Among the standouts is Dale gives a credible portrayal of a father who’s caught between doing his duty as a drug-enforcement officer and being in denial about his teenage son’s increasing drug problem. Foster does yet another depiction of an unhinged criminal. “King Ivory” might get some comparisons to director Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning 2000 film “Traffic,” but “King Ivory” is not an Oscar-worthy film. However, “King Ivory” is a solid option for viewers to see a gritty saga that looks at drug trafficking from different angles.
Saban Films and Roadside Attractions released “King Ivory” in select U.S. cinemas on November 14, 2025. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released “King Ivory” on digital and VOD on December 16, 2025. “King Ivory” will be released on DVD on February 10, 2026.