Moving, Essential: "The Hate U Give"

The Hate U Give (2018)
directed by George Tillman, Jr.
starring Amandla Stenberg, Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Common, Issa Rae

Recommended? Yes, highly. A must-see.

I knew this was the movie to see as the George Tillman Jr. directed screen adaptation of the YA novel went wide. Many of you have seen it already. I went with trepidation. Not because I didn't think the film would be good, but because the subject matter is painful. I'd been trying to get through the audiobook of the brilliant Angie Thomas novel and have not been able to do it. The story of how a young teen copes with seeing another best friend die of gun violence right in front of her, this time from a policeman's bullet, is a story we unfortunately know all too well.

The saving grace of this narrative is in seeing how this exceptional teen rises up, takes action, and becomes who she is meant to be.

Far from being a simple tale of "something terrible happened and it made me a better person," The Hate U Give manages to meld a YA coming-of-age story with a treatise on black identity, black love, the immediacy of hip-hop as social commentary, social justice, political action, police brutality, class, crime, and racism. Watching a teenager have to navigate between the social hierarchy of a mostly white private school, the supportive enclave or her family, and the harsh realities of the streets in between is stunning. Though many of us have grown up this way, to see it portrayed in a way that few films have captured with such poignancy makes me marvel anew at the resiliency of people of color who must cope, dodge, adapt, and overcome just to survive in our society.

Watching this brilliant film was a rollercoaster of emotion for me:

* Thrilled by the portrayal of protagonist Starr Carter by the amazing Amandla Stenberg, who manages to imbue Starr with both the questing uncertainty of a teenager and the burgeoning maturity of the woman she is becoming.

* Gratified by the depiction of a loving, proud black family headed by a strong father who is a complicated, multilayered character. Regina Hall is effective as Starr's loving and protective mother, but Russell Hornsby as Starr's father Maverick, a former gang member who served an undeserved prison term for the local drug kingpin (Anthony Mackie) and now runs the local convenience store, is an absolute standout. You feel his love and pride in his family, his fierce determination that his children stand up for themselves, and his desperation and frustration at continued disrespect from law enforcement.

* Heartbroken by yet another senseless murder of a young black man, Starr's childhood friend and first crush Khalil, played by the engaging newcomer Algee Smith. This scene portraying their confrontation with police points up just how necessary it is for parents of color to have The Talk with their children.

* Outraged by the unwarranted brutality against black and brown people by police and the refusal by many police departments to hold officers accountable for them. However, I commend the film for not demonizing the character of the officer who shot Khalil, and for presenting the viewpoint of police in the character of Starr's uncle Carlos, played by Common, an officer who explains to her how in the same circumstance, he too would probably have shot her friend.

* Saddened that the youngest of us, the children, have to grow up in these times when they don't get to have a true childhood.

* Embarrassed and disappointed by the grip that gangs and drugs still have on our communities, though the economic cycle that forces many into crime is deftly explained in the film.

* Inspired to see another generation radicalized to action in the face of so much ongoing oppression, racial animosity, apathy, and violence. The character of local organizer April Ofrah, played by Issa Rae, is a reminder that we must be the change. It is when we give up that any hope for change diminishes. And Starr Carter represents that hope.

The Hate U Give makes sure to show a balanced picture, that not all cops are violent, and not all whites are clueless racists. The fact that these messages are also conveyed makes the film that much stronger. Some of the scenes toward the end are disturbing, as police attempt to quash a peaceful protest and young people are threatened with beatings, shootings, and fire.

The Hate U Give is not a feel-good movie. It's a powerful film that shows viewers the truth of black neighborhoods across this country in the era of #BlackLivesMatter. It's a movie about how one young girl gets woke, and by watching, hopefully we do too. And this makes it one of the most important films of the year.

Words on Flicks for Your Ears

The Words on Flicks Show
With Your Host, Janine Coveney

A new podcast on movies from a fan perspective ...

Greetings everyone. After posting 80 blogs on various movie topics to this platform, Words on Flicks is expanding to the podcast universe. Beginning October 18, 2018, I am launching a weekly 60-minute BlogTalk Radio show to talk about my favorite hobby, watching movies. You can check it out every Thursday evening at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.

Why a podcast? Because online radio/video talk has expanded and exploded in the last few years and it's a great platform for discussion of various topics. I myself was invited to guest on a couple of podcasts in the past year, and Ed Waterford, one of the hosts and EWaterRadio founder, generously offered me a timeslot of my own. In that moment, I thought, Why not? Everyone likes movies. They may not get a chance to go to the theater that often, or they may not like a particular genre, but most people have seen a film that has impacted or influenced them in some way, and it's fun to talk about that.

Background: I am an entertainment journalist. I have been a writer, editor and content creator and my beat has been 90 percent about music and the terrestrial radio business. I enjoyed several years as a Billboard Magazine scribe covering R&B and then as managing editor for their now-defunct radio-oriented spinoff magazine Billboard Airplay Monitor. I covered music -- hip-hop, R&B and jazz -- for more than a decade at various other magazine and broadcast companies. I branched into travel writing as well after going abroad to cover jazz events. I never felt the need to become an "air personality." But I think doing the podcast will be fun.

Because while writing and editing was what paid the bills, in my off hours I do a lot of fiction reading and writing, spinning my own stories into (as yet unpublished) novels. I've also done a lot of movie watching. A fascination for good storytelling, particularly visual storytelling, has fueled my love of cinema from a very early age. Growing up in New York City, I caught my mother's enthusiasm for watching TV Channel 9's "Million Dollar Movie" series, which was usually classic musicals, dramas, or gangster flicks of the 1930s through the 1950s. I was still in elementary school. And by the way, I had no idea it used the Gone With The Wind Theme until I first saw GWTW as a young adult:



As I got older, getting home from high school, there was ABC's "The 4:30 Movie"; Mom would make snacks and make me promise to do my homework afterward, but for an hour and a half or two hours, including those pesky TV commercials, we were glued to the screen, oohing and ahhing over a leading lady's costume, some fancy dance footwork, or a gruesome shootout. My mother taught me to recognize her favorite screen idols, and I was able to follow actors from film to film. Just hearing the theme music to this afternoon movie gem puts a smile on my face:



Living in NYC, it was also easy to see independent and foreign films because it was a major market. I remember ditching school to go the 68th Street Playhouse to see the original "Birdcage" -- La Cage aux Folles -- in French, as well as numerous other subtitled flicks when I was still a teen. I also got into the habit of seeing major studio films during the first weekend of release. When I first moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s, I wanted to write for television. So I studied scriptwriting and story structure. I even studied acting for a little while. These experiences actually changed and improved how I look at a film.

Movies are sheer escapism. But they are also a chronicle of our history and culture and an ongoing commentary on human nature. When we watch, we bring our own knowledge and life experiences to the viewing, and in the process we open ourselves up to learn and see more through the main characters. When I watch, I try to take in everything that's presented on screen -- not only the actors' performances, and the mechanics of their dialog, but the subtext of that dialog, what the costumes and the set decoration say about their status, their relationships, their education, and their values. Older movies are a virtual symposium on the values, customs, clothing, and culture of past generations, which is fascinating to me. Historical dramas -- though often fictionalized and Hollywood-ized -- can still offer us a valuable perspective on real events and personalities. Situations that were life-threatening, reputation-altering, and life-changing in the past don't hold the same meaning today, though we now face new threats and challenges due to progressive values and advanced technology.

This is also an interesting moment in cinema history, as the studios and the film and television academies try to acknowledge the stories and talents of people of color, with more diversity initiatives and a broader array of films being made than in past decades.

In my head I have a memory file where I tend to make little mental links between films with similar themes, music, characters, and situations. It's just how my mind works. So I get to write my unfettered and amateur opinions here. I get to share a bunch of words on flicks.

So hopefully you'll want to tune into blogtalkradio.com/ewaterradio as I chat about various themes and topics in movies past and present.

In addition to this blog, I've launched a new Words On Flicks FaceBook page, and you can send me your ideas at janinec@wordsonflicks.com.

Thanks for indulging me and coming along for the journey.

Timeless Love: A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born



directed by Bradley Cooper
starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, others

Recommended: Yes.

When I heard that actor/director Bradley Cooper was taking on "A Star Is Born" for yet another remake, I wondered ... why? There are already so many remakes of previous titles in Hollywood's pipeline, are there no original stories left?

A Star Is Born first came to the screen with Fredric March and Janet Gaynor back in 1937; most film fans know the Judy Garland musical vehicle with musical dud James Mason starring as an alcoholic actor. That version really captures the rhythm of Hollywood as well as everything that makes Judy Garland a star: the acting, the singing, the dancing; it also utilizes montages of black and white photos to advance the story, something not much seen at the time.

Of course people either revere or revile the 1976 version with luminous Barbra Streisand and sexy Kris Kristofferson. I happen to be in the revile camp -- I watched the movie again recently and it was just as bad as I remembered, though it had great cinematography and one good song in "Evergreen." Playing a rock star singer-songwriter, Kristofferson sang some truly abysmal numbers in that.

As I remembered the Garland/Mason film, the narrative seemed more a cautionary tale than a timeless love story. On my FB page, I asked "Why does A Star Is Born keep getting remade? Does a talented woman still need a hand up from a powerful man? And is a man still so threatened by a woman's success that he self-destructs?" Responders disputed this view, saying the previous versions were products of their time, and that it wasn't the woman's success that led to the man's demise, it was his own demons and he was on a downward spiral anyway. Hmmm. I can sort of see where there is a glimmer of self-sacrifice there, made in the name of love; as Maine decides that he will only drag his wife down, he takes the ultimate exit.

I also asked if smart women were still falling in love with hopeless drunks. Well, in the new version of A Star Is Born, apparently they are.

Spunky waitress, monster vocalist and sometime performer Ally, played soulfully by an amazing Lady Gaga, gets swept off her feet by one of the most charming, talented, and famous alcohol abusers on the scene, the rock artist Jackson Maine, played soulfully by Cooper with a roguish glint in his eye and channeling costar Sam Elliot's western basso elocution. They meet by accident, Jackson chasing a drink, and Jackson finds himself intrigued and inspired by Ally's talents and down-to-earth personality. The two begin a whirlwind romance, with Jackson pulling Ally onto the stage with him to sing an original song she'd only a cappella'd to him the night before.

There is no question that Ally is aware of his substance abuse issues, as well as his hearing problems, but his charm, talent and his focused interest in her elicits a bottomless well of love and loyalty. So with the audience roaring its approval of Ally's prodigious pipes (I knew Gaga could sing, and she is mindblowing here), she becomes a staple in Jackson's touring show before being plucked for solo pop stardom by an enterprising young talent manager. As in previous versions of ASIB, at the pinnacle of being recognized for her solo success, Jackson falls apart -- quite publicly. Unable to conquer his own demons, angered by and envious of Ally's success as a pop nymphet, which seems removed from the soulful singer-songwriter style she first evolved in her shows with him, Jackson can't recover his equilibrium. From there, it's a downward spiral for Jackson. And a real bummer for us viewers.

In some ways, this new version hews closely to the 1976 one in terms of Jackson being a burned out rock star, and in keeping his origins to the west (note that Streisand's former husband, Jon Peters, is a producer for both), and it has the look and pacing of many 1970s auteur flicks. There are some interesting updates; rather than meet in a dive Hollywood bar, Jackson meets Ally in a drag bar where she is allowed by the stage queens to perform "La Vie En Rose" in Edith Piaf eyebrows. Her backstory includes being a den mom to her father (a surprising turn by Andrew Dice Clay), and his crew of perhaps wiseguy-connected "drivers," as well as best friend to a young gay man played with charm by Anthony Ramos, who starred as Mars Blackmon in the reboot of Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It." Jackson's relationship with his brother and caretaker, played to perfection by the great Elliott, gives viewers a window into the rock star's sense of entitlement as well as his insecurities after abandonment by their parents.

What is refreshing and compelling about this ASIB is the naturalistic performances of Gaga and Cooper. While most movies rush the principle characters into bed after a few volleys of dialog, this version shows us the progression of their relationship, which includes a friendly ribbing, an opposites-attract dynamic, and a true bonding over the creation of music. We see how Jackson invests Ally with his own hopes and dreams, looking to reignite his own creative drive, and we see how Ally's fascination and regard for Jackson's artistry and his belief in her leads her to grab for both love and self-expression. We see them fall in love before our eyes, and it's quite remarkable and believable. There may be some viewers, however, who feel that these scenes go on way too long, that the leisurely pace is off-putting, that the dialog drags. I say: As viewers we have become so used to wiz-bang editing and narrative shortcuts that this slow unfolding of realtime affection has become rare.

In addition, the music for this outing is really, really good. Cooper holds his own, wrangling his guitar and singing tunes that already sound like rock anthems. And Gaga's vocal power and control are nothing short of astonishing. It's no wonder the soundtrack has leapt to the top of the Billboard charts in the weeks since its release. Together, as actors, they have some amazing scenes that will challenge your ability to keep a dry eye.

Ultimately, I think the reason for the remake of A Star Is Born is the evergreen nature of its narrative, which provide the two leads with incredibly juicy, showy acting roles. Cooper is great, and his casting of Gaga is inspired. It was also nice to see actors known more for comedy, including the aforementioned Clay, Dave Chappelle, and even Eddie Griffin, in supporting roles.

While previous versions of ASIB show us the trajectories of two distant stars crossing, this version is much more intimate and human.

Vampire Chic: A Dark Fate for Juliet in "With A Kiss I Die"

With A Kiss I Die
written and directed by Ronnie Khalil
starring Ella Kweku, Paige Emerson, George Kopsidas, Michael Angels, Ioannis Papazisis

A unique and new independent film is available for viewing this week. Called With A Kiss I Die, it uses Shakespeare's tragic tale of timeless love, "Romeo And Juliet," and turns it into an interracial lesbian vampire love story.

For real.

While that might seem really out there, the film has its own comments to make about what it means to be in love with another person, about whether each of us only has one great love in a lifetime, about how love is love, and about what sacrifices we're willing to make for that love.

With A Kiss I Die was written and directed by Ronnie Khalil, best known as an Arab-American stand-up comic in both the Middle East and the U.S. And as Juliet Capulet, the film stars a woman of color, stunning newcomer Ella Kweku, a former model and erstwhile musician born in The Canary Islands of Spain who calls Los Angeles home.

In Khalil's reimagining of the Shakespeare legend, Juliet is still alive after 800 years and is being transformed – against her will – into a vampire. Filmed in the gorgeous Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini, With A Kiss I Die shows a Juliet who no longer wishes to live as she continues to mourn the death of her Romeo. Despondent over being stolen from their tomb in Verona and revived as one of the living dead by a powerful Greek vampire named Father, Juliet is in transition from light to dark. She can experience daylight and a full range of emotions while subsisting on the blood of a willing human companion, but once she drinks the blood of a victim she kills herself she will become a true vampire who can only walk at night. Juliet feels trapped and hopeless as Father puts pressure on her to take this final step.

When Juliet meets a troubled American tourist (Paige Emerson) and they develop intense feelings for one another, a jealous Father threatens the girl's life. Juliet makes a final choice to free them both from Father’s wrath, a decision that echoes her tragic ending with Romeo centuries earlier.

With A Kiss I Die is just the latest in a long string of vampire film narratives that have broken loose from the original Dracula legend. The fascination with being immortal is a major part of this fantasy, as is the darkly romantic idea that while a vampire may kill and ingest the blood of many human victims, which is a macabre horror, he or she carefully chooses that special someone to initiate into the ranks of vampiredom and is then responsible for the initiate's life and wellbeing. It is a twisted love story, a ghoulish betrothal, an induction into a supernatural fraternity from which one can never escape.

Most of the Dracula remakes romanticize Dracula's obsession with Lucy and other potential "brides." That idea is why the 1979 reboot cast sexy thespian Frank Langella as Dracula, while Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992 made Gary Oldham a man of mystery whose alter ego was an ancient monster. Even in the little-seen Dracula 2000, Dracula is none other than Gerard Butler (they also try to make the case that Dracula is really Judas Iscariot, cursed for all time). Sexy vampires were also central to Quentin Tarantino's 1996 From Dusk Till Dawn, while Eddie Murphy took on the legend for1995's Vampire in Brooklyn. Wesley Snipes became a half-vampire avenger in the Blade series.

We also imagine that because they live through many ages they are prone to loneliness. This is dealt with at length in 1994's Interview With The Vampire, where 200-year-old vampire Louis (Brad Pitt) tries for centuries to find meaning and connection in his vampire life. Poor vampires, doomed to kill and wander the earth for an eternity. Love is the only redeeming quality left to them, even when it almost always ends in tragedy. Like the immortal creatures themselves, vampire narratives just won't die.

With A Kiss I Die is available on streaming platforms.

10 Reasons "Crazy Rich Asians" Is Winning Right Now

I haven't seen Crazy Rich Asians yet. I really want to. I just have to make time.*

I'm happy for its box office success. And without having seen it, I can make assumptions about why Crazy Rich Asians is winning right now (though, yeah, I know what they say about making assumptions). Most of its success undoubtedly has to do with how well the film develops its seemingly novel characters, incorporates accurate cultural details, and still adheres to the time-honored beats of long-established film genres.

Here are ten reasons I can think of:

1. Asian and other marginalized people in the U.S. want to see stories with Asian protagonists.
It took too long, Hollywood, to acknowledge the power of the Asian-American audience. This significant and broadly diverse population is too often overlooked, despite people of Asian descent having played a significant part in the economic development and history of this country. We've seen plenty of foreign films get acclaim here, but there are still precious few big-screen stories about the lives of modern-day Asian-Americans.

2. Asian people want to see an all-Asian cast. And because of the notoriety, we do too.
There are so many talented performers who have been overlooked, underutilized, and pushed into stereotypical roles. I love that Malaysian-born Michele Yeoh -- who kicked butt alongside Jackie Chan in Super Cop, alongside Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies, and beside Chow Yun-Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- plays the rich matriarch. It is also great that so many other actors we haven't seen much of before get a showcase playing fully fleshed out characters. (And have you see this Henry Golding guy who plays the rich fiance? Yum!)

3. For the most part, we are intrigued by Asian culture.
Starting with Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines, which are very popular judging by the number of restaurants, cooking shows, and frozen food options in this country, Americans also have a fondness for Asian art, artifacts, technology, and traditional and contemporary fashion design. (To the point where cultural appropriation has become problematic, but still.)

4. The family versus family culture-clash is a popular story.
We saw something similar when Brooklyn-bred Laz Alonzo and well-to-do Paula Patton tried to meld their class-differing families on Martha's Vineyard in 2011's Jumping The Broom. Warring or philosophically opposed families who must reconcile for intermarriage is a universal, relatable narrative going back to Romeo and Juliet.

5. The Prince Charming fairytale narrative is popular with women.
Everyone is fascinated by a Cinderella story, where a girl is swept up and not only emotionally but financially and sartorially transformed by the love of a rich prince. Let the makeovers begin!

6. The fish-out-of-water story is also a tried-and-true narrative.
She may be an Asian-American girl, but lead character Rachel (Constance Wu) is essentially American. Now she has to assimilate herself into two distinct cultures: That of the mother country and that of extreme wealth. Culture shock ensues.

7. We can't resist "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
Everyone likes to see how the other half lives. Getting to see the details of how these crazy rich Asians are putting it down day to day is a big draw. (RIP, Robin Leach, who passed this past week.)

8. Who doesn't enjoy a travelogue?
Yay! This movie will take us on a tour of modern-day Singapore! See the sights, learn the customs, taste the cuisine with our eyes, hear the music. Because when will we ever get to actually go?

9. It's a comedy!
Who doesn't like to laugh? And it looks like co-stars Awkwafina and Ken Jeong deliver.

10. It's a love story.
And doesn't love conquer all?

From where I sit, watching the previews and trailers, Crazy Rich Asians looks like an old-fashioned rom-com with a slick glaze of contemporary sensibility. It looks like lot of fun, even if it appears as though some stereotypes may not have been completely abandoned. That's OK ... for now. I'm not mad at it.

*Amended 8/25/18. Saw it. It definitely checks all these boxes. I enjoyed it!

Shining A Light In The Corners: "Blindspotting"

Blindspotting
directed by Carlos Lopez-Estrada
starring Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casals, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones


Blindspotting is a cinema love letter to How Things Used To Be.

Not just a love letter to how things used to be in Oakland, the setting for this film, but to every inner-city hood that is a mix of strife, heart, tragedy, beauty and humanity, where many came of age and many more are living still. Where friendships are forged and tried and tested and feel like family.

For black and brown people, Oakland has a long and storied cultural history in politics and the arts. It has long been ravaged by crime and overpoliced. Today, like many urban centers around the nation, it is being claimed by hipsters and gentrifiers. From the opening credits, where director Carlos Lopez-Estrada uses a split screen to juxtapose the past and the present, we see the good and the bad.

Blindspotting is also an examination of How We Used To Be. An examination of the time we had to grow the eff up, not give up our dreams necessarily but refine them. Everybody has to make that transformation. Remember your younger or more naive self, when you weren't exactly innocent, but were just old enough to think you knew everything? When you had decided who you were and who truly had your back? Often we are forced by circumstances to open our eyes to a much bigger picture. Often, those circumstances are sad, sudden, ironic, tragic; sometimes they are of our own making. Regardless, they mark us forever after.

Here's the thing: As uncomfortable as it is, change is unavoidable. Whether in ourselves, the people around us, or in our environment, nothing stays the same.

As you can tell, this movie got me all in my feelings.

Blindspotting centers on Collin (Tony and Grammy-winning Hamilton star Daveed Diggs), a 20something parolee living out the final days of his court-ordered probation period in a halfway house. Collin is trying to get back on his feet and stay out of trouble, since any infraction can put him back behind bars. He's rattled by the fact that his mother hasn't kept his bedroom available for him, hurt by his broken relationship with Val (Janina Gavankar), and profoundly haunted by witnessing a white police officer gunning down an unarmed black youth only days before his probation ends. He takes refuge in his relationship with his trigger-happy childhood friend, Miles (Rafael Casals), an Oakland-bred white boy who has settled down in the neighborhood with his black wife (Jasmine Cephas Jones, another Hamilton alum and daughter of This Is Us TV favorite Ron Cephas Jones) and their child. Miles, who also works at the moving company, lives life out loud, with a carefree heedlessness that Collin is discovering he can no longer afford.

We don't discover the details of what landed him in prison until mid-film, when it's related by a random stranger in a brilliant reenactment sequence that is simultaneously hilarious and horrific. "Tell me something, when you look at me now, do you see [that incident]?" Collin asks Val, his former girlfriend and the dispatcher at the moving company where he works. What's interesting is that, at this point in the film the audience sees the entire scope of what Collin is grappling with.

As written by stars Diggs and Casals, real-life long-time friends and erstwhile spoken word artists from Oakland, Blindspotting shows us the ways that Collin is being forced to truly examine his circumstances and make some choices in order to not just to move on with his life but move up. The movie is less than subtle in making points about the impact of police brutality, the criminalization of black men, staying true to one's roots, the parameters of friendship, gentrification of traditionally black neighborhoods, and how equality and tolerance can combust when non-blacks brought up within black culture face the confounding problems of white privilege within themselves. It also uses rap as a tool of expression for both characters, who like to trade rhymes and improve their flow when things on the job get slow.

Though it's a snapshot of current-day Oakland, Blindspotting shares more narrative DNA with films like John Singleton's 1991 drama Boyz N Tha Hood or 1995's Ice Cube comic opus Friday than it does with Sorry To Bother You, the ribald Oakland-set social satire that hit theaters earlier in July. Like Tre in Boyz and Craig in Friday, Collin is the voice of reason in a West Coast enclave of established relationships, cultural traditions, and social hierarchies, but he has to evaluate his place within that world and take responsibility for his own actions to become a better man. He has to identify and shine a light on those blind spots.

It's the compelling and emotional performance of Diggs as Collin as well as his natural chemistry with the exuberant and hotheaded Casals that make Blindspotting really click. Its visual imagery and narrative themes stayed with me long after I left the theater.


All photos are screen shots.
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Crazy, Brilliant, Awkward, Strange: "Sorry To Bother You" Is ... A Lot

Sorry To Bother You
directed by Boots Riley
starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Omari Hardwick, Danny Glover, Terry Crews, Armie Hammer, Jermaine Fowler

People of color are having something of a moment in the filmmaking arena. Further, Oakland-based actors, filmmakers and locations are experiencing a comeup. So I was chomping at the bit to see Sorry To Bother You. (That metaphor will be more apt once you see the film for yourself.) I was left feeling that this movie, for all of its groundbreaking story, visual virtuosity, unique characters, and cultural commentary, may have bitten off more than it can chew. This could have made a really interesting cable series, much like "Atlanta," in which star LaKeith Stanfield also appears. Sorry To Bother You is overstuffed with potent observances, visual jokes, surrealist setups, witty dialog, awkward humor, and jaw-dropping reveals. Honestly, I wasn't really ready. It's ... a lot. A LOT.

This first feature from Oakland writer, musician, and director Boots Riley is an absurdist, surreal meditation on capitalism, racism, classism, corporate greed, art as political commentary, media, technology, civil disobedience, black culture, and moral integrity. At least, these are the myriad ideas this mind blower of a film touches on at breakneck speed. Riley takes the time-honored plot about an everyman who makes something of a Faustian bargain and twists expectations, especially with the main character of Cassius Green, played by nerd savant LaKeith Stanfield. (Apparently some of Stanfield's eccentricities are not just on screen, according to a profile in the New York Times).

Here's a basic synopsis, but I'll let other reviewers attempt to explain the final third of the flick:

Mild-mannered Cassius lives in his uncle's garage, drives an ancient, patched-together economy car, and needs a job to catch up on rent. His free-form, woke girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson) twirls signs and creates performance art on street corners for a living. Desperate for a job, Cassius bullshits his way into a miserable telemarketing sales gig. When his uncle Sergio (Terry Crews with hair) is threatened with losing their home, Cassius decides to take the advice of a fellow phone-room veteran, played by a gleefully loose Danny Glover, and soon becomes a sales star who is promoted to the lofty penthouse area where "power callers" make megabucks deals. And in a surreal visual delight, with every call, we see Cassius, his desk and headset land from the ceiling with a bang into the habitat of his customers -- in their kitchens, while they're on the toilet, while making love, into their office, while smoking a joint.

His secret, as anyone who has seen the trailers knows, is to use his "white voice" on the calls. This is really no secret to people of color working within the confines of corporate America, who often find themselves code-switching in different situations. But Sorry To Bother You takes the concept to its absurdist extreme -- so much so that the "white voices" used by Stanfield and his Power Caller idol, played by Omari Hardwick in an inexplicable bowler, eyepatch and muttonchop sideburns combo, are actually dubbed by white actors.

Our hero (whose whole name is basically "cash is green") is more than willing to fake it to make it, and once he drinks the Kool-Aid of the Power Caller lifestyle, which comes with a hefty paycheck, he doesn't care that he is actually selling slave labor to global corporations. With a hip new apartment and a luxury car, and having saved his uncle's home with a fat wad of green, Cash shrugs off the Upstairs/Downstairs moral quandary when the phone room staff erupts into a full-scale work stoppage to protest low wages and lack of benefits. His "I'm with you in spirit, but this has nothing to do with me" attitude -- not to mention his increasing use of the "white voice" at all times -- drives a wedge between himself and the strikers, most importantly his best friend Salvador (Jermaine Fowler), and worse, his girlfriend Detroit, who is being pursued by Squeeze (John Yeun), the phone room's strike organizer. With Cash and other Power Callers crossing the picket lines with armed escorts every day, Detroit labels Cash a "morally emaciated" scab and bounces. One of the funnier moments of the film is when newly entitled Cassius arrives to work and engages in a rapidly escalating war of compliments with Salvador. It's absurdist humor at its best, when "I hope you have a great year, brother" and "You smell great, what are you wearing?" are challenges as heated and threatening as any game of The Dozens.

Meanwhile, Cash proves so good at his Power Caller game that his mentor Mr. ___ (Hardwick) informs him that he's been summoned to a party at the home of the company's CEO, a douchebag young gun named Steve Lift (Armie Hammer) whose oft-protested Worry Free company is basically a modern-day slave plantation (and I could write another whole essay on this concept). Cash attends the party, which is a cross between every Hollywood-style excess mansion bash and a scene out of "Eyes Wide Shut." Goaded by Lift into rapping for the party, simply because he's black (this scene is awkward and painful, though some will find it funny) Cash is later summoned to Lift's inner sanctum, where Cash inadvertently stumbles across a horrifying scientific experiment, which I won't divulge. Cash is then forced by Lift -- at gunpoint --to consider a multimillion-dollar paycheck to work with this still-developing faction of Lift's empire.

At this point, Sorry To Bother You makes a sharp turn from social satire straight into sci-fi, and it may be a hard leap for some in the audience to make. It's a film where the amusing eccentricities, quirks, and weirdness of the plot finally pile up so high that by the last 20 minutes, Freak Fatigue may set in. For a movie billed as a comedy, somehow the laughs are far and few between; certainly there are hilarious moments, such as the aforementioned compliment war, the Power Callers' elevator gags, and Cash's brief experience in the private room of a local club. There are also several deeply disturbing scenes, as when non-rapper Cash is forced to rap for a party of white folks and resorts to chanting the n-word; when Detroit holds a gallery opening and invites attendees to pelt her near-naked body with sheep's blood, cell phones and bullet casings as a piece of performance art; and several scenes of extreme violence involving a fictional TV reality show and confrontations between the police and striking workers. And then there is that certain ... scientific program.

The visual design and cinematography of the movie are stellar; the framing, explosion of colors, and set design are remarkable. A shot of Cash driving through the neighborhoods on his way to work and to pick up his girlfriend, as well as the club scenes, give us a true sense of the sights and sounds of Oakland. Detroit's candy-colored hair and message earrings, Cash's increasingly dapper suits, the high-five montage of Cash celebrating sales with his phone room supervisor, the crash landings into client's spaces, and the headshot of Cash in the phone room framed against the copyroom window, behind which two employees are confounded by a paper-spewing copier, are just a few of the dazzling visual setups. And the film earns high marks for its soundtrack, with some of the songs provided by director Riley's band.

Sorry To Bother You has to be seen to be believed. Do I encourage you to see it? Yes. Stanfield, with his stooped uncertain posture and expressive eyes, gives a great performance. There is a lot to unpack here about a number of issues. But I wouldn't take young children. It's more of a dystopian cautionary tale than anything else. As with most protagonists in the I-sold-my-soul-but-I-want-it-back plotline, Cassius regains his moral fiber, takes back his power, and goes all out to make things right. But even as a happy ending is dangled before us, full of love and sunshine, the last scenes take a darker twist.

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