Night Catches Us – Frankly My Dear – Orlando Sentinel With “Night Catches Us,” writer-director Tanya Hamilton bursts on the indie film scene as a potential major talent, a woman with a keen sense of character, place and relationships and the ambition to tell stories Hollywood might never get around to.
Seriously, when is the last time a major studio considered doing something set in the black community of 1970s Philadelphia, a story cast against fading influence of the Black Panther Party? Anthony Mackie of “The Hurt Locker” is Marcus, who turns up at his father’s house after a long absence. The old man, a preacher, has died. And his brother, Bostic (Tariq Trotter) has become a Muslim and barely tolerates the prodigal’s return. DoRight (Jamie Hector), a belligerent local Panther, is wary of Marcus, too. When he left, Marcus had acquired a nickname. And “Things have changed, Snitch,” DoRight sneers. Patricia, played with her usual heart and passion by Kerry Washington, seems like other unfinished business for Marcus. She’s a lawyer, a single mom, living in the neighborhood she grew up in, feeding hungry kids, helping with legal aid. Yes, the cops are still racist jerks, antagonizing one and all. But she has hope things will get better. Amari Cheatam plays Jimmy, Patricia’s bitter teenage nephew, an angry young man who has “lost his way.” Hassled by the notorious Philly PD, he could go one of several ways — all of them bad. He is in love with Black Panther mythology. Hamilton centers her “You can’t go home again” tale on Patricia and Marcus, as the returning man deals with cops who remember him, Panthers who have never forgiven and a neighborhood that seems trapped in the militant ’60s. “You’re living in the past. You’re all fighting imaginary enemies.” Washington and Mackie recreate the chemistry they had in Spike Lee’s flop, “She Hate Me,” and tell this simple, human tale in gentle tones — with rarely a raised voice of raised hackle. Hamilton gives away her plot secrets slowly and deliberately, perhaps a little too slowly, allowing us to get ahead of this beautifully shot film (David Tumblety was cinematographer). But “Night Catches Us,” coming to The Enzian for a single showing (with a Tanya Hamilton Q & A afterward) is still an utterly engrossing and promising first film from a director with a unique vision and a point of view. Let’s hope more name talent of the caliber of Washington and Mackie pitch in and help her get her stories on the screen. See for Yourself “Night Catches Us” at the Enzian. Cast: Kerry Washington, Anthony Mackie, Wendell Pearce, Amari Cheatom Director: Tanya Hamilton Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes Rating: R for language, some sexuality and violence -- http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2011/01/movie-review-night-catches-us.html Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
