by The Great White Gypsy

UPDATE: When I wrote this article, I made reference to a problem with the camera. After having the same problem with a different film on a different screen in a different theater, I want to be clear that the filmmakers had nothing to do with this issue. It doesn’t change my view of the film, but I gotta be fair.

Sometimes it’s really, really hard to convince yourself that a movie at a film festival is crap. Especially when so many people applaud at the end. Fortunately, I’m not one of these artsy assholes who thinks just because a big studio didn’t sign the checks, what you’re seeing is “well-made art”.

My second film today was Night Catches Us at The Egyptian Theater. Written and directed by newcomer Tanya Hamilton, it is the story of an ex-Black Panther who returns home to Philadelphia in the summer of 1976 after the death of his father. Unfortunately, what he comes back to is a rift with his Muslim brother, the animosity of the local Panther chapter, the scrutiny of the police, and the guilt over possibly causing the death of his best friend’s husband years earlier.

On paper, this movie looks really good. The subject matter is intriguing. With recently improving actor Anthony Mackie and the sexy Kerry Washington leading the cast, and Wendell Pierce supporting, it’s safe to assume the performances will be solid. And the fact that The Roots composed an original, Soul-inspired soundtrack is the icing on the cake, right?

Wrong.

The soundtrack is dope. The acting is impressive considering the script they had to work with. Everything else about this film is weak-sauce. I’ll allow for the direction, because Hamilton is new to the game. But the writing pretty damn bad. The conflict between brothers has maybe three short scenes; the strained family dynamic is never explained or resolved. Mackie’s relationship with Washington’s daughter is never fully flushed out. And Jimmy the mentally-unstable cousin, who aspires to be the next Panther revolutionary, isn’t focused on enough to give it any validity. Everything in this film, every relationship, every storyline, is a side plot that - from beginning to end - never feels complete. I can honestly say I didn’t give a shit about any of the characters or the stories. The dialog is unnecessarily dramatic when it has no reason to be, characters yell at each other for the slightest provocation. It never really makes sense.

I freely and humbly admit that, as far as behind the scenes, the biggest problem I had may have been just me. Maybe my eyes were tired, or maybe the screen or projector itself was faulty. Maybe I’m just crazy. But I sternly feel that something was wrong with the camera. Everything, actors included, seemed to be moving slightly slower than normal. Like every scene was supposed to be quasi-slow motion. Or like the camera couldn’t change focus correctly. The film is blurry, lethargic, and it gave me a fucking headache. I don’t know if I blame the DP, the director, or the teenager working the machine in back, but someone must pay. The editing wasn’t awful, but splicing old Black Panther cartoons with black and white news footage of marches and demonstrations has been done before, and it’s been done better.

If I had to describe the failing of this film in one word, it would be: soulless. Which surprises the hell out of me. I really went into this film thinking The Roots were going to make 1970’s Philadelphia come alive, and that the Black Panthers and those effected by them would personify this volatile period in American social history. But none of it came together. Not for one second did I ever feel that the writer/director had any concept of the time period, the social struggle, or the history. There is no deep intellectual angle, no innately personal touch, not even a Spike Lee racial agenda! (I can’t stand Spike Lee and his racist crap, but even I can’t deny he is a talented filmmaker.) It’s as if everyone involved thought that the music and the subject matter would speak for themselves, and they forgot to tell a good story. I think Hamilton has some potential as a director if she actually puts something into it, but I would hesitate to encourage her to write anything in the near future.

FINAL GRADE: D

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