Don’t think you can prepare for this kind of mayhem. I went into this blind and I’m glad I did. I did watch a trailer and it didn’t help. A project from a great mind that isn’t Jordan Peele but has clearly had lunch with Jordan. A thought provoking story centred around race but delivered with grace and professionalism.
We meet Cheryl then we meet Neve. Neve sets the tone with some excellent finessement on her white neighbours about her charity event ?? it was so clean! She’s mixed race, a wife and a mother of 2. Shortly we learn that she’s a complex character who is obsessed with fitting into her community. Given it’s a predominantly white area she’s on a mission to erase her “blackness”. Forcing and emphasising heavily on her white side. Anything black related that reminds her of her black side is off limits, from there the story ensues. Eventually we find she’s being stalked by 2 characters but her fear and disgust comes from them being… yes you guessed it… black. Honestly if they were white stalkers I think she would be cool LOL.
It’s then a nexus network of events filled with mind games and simulations. The story develops well and at a good pace but most importantly always has some extra thought induced subtle sign playing through out. Our main character is obsessed with wigs and through out the film you find her itching her hair. It’s subtle and can easily be missed. The itching gets worse and worse as the movie progresses which acts as an indicator that we are getting closer to some revelation. It’s excellent writing. There are some heavy messages here. Left, right and centre you see a whole load of characters minds snapping one by one and the transitions are captured superbly. The tension is built well then coupled with the anxiety as the frosting on the cake then incorporated with outstanding use of sound effects and exceptional camera angles. The sound especially is utilised effectively. There are scenes in which there is literally no sound and those scenes somehow heighten the suspense even more. The story turns its attention to the core values of family. What would you do maintain your home? What lengths would you go to keep your family? An emotional account on the importance of redemption and forgiveness. Coincidentally it centres its sights on the fragility of the mind. The dangers of mental programming. The strengths and weaknesses of it and how everyone differs. Great work from Mr Martello-White.
Ashley Madekwe delivers an engaging and captivating performance. Her emotions are well felt. Her disgust, fear, commitment, all stellar displays. The stand out actors for me are the youth in the film. Maria, Jordan, Samuel and Bucky. As the story is unfolded with the use of flashbacks you see their character development. From the soft and loving side to the moment their minds and hearts are shattered to pieces in the marvellous final act.
Overall it was an excellent watch. A piece that makes you think and keeps you engaged. Encourages you through the whole film to keep your eyes open for the little tokens that may add to your thoughts of the story. With plot twists pouring out your nose all over the place accompanied with a brilliant finale, you will be begging for more. We are also blessed with a scene with music from our landlord Mr Hollow Man Giggs, we loved it in the cinema.
In the now “Woke” society we live in, we have a lot of hollow content that are just focused on “shouting” out race issues and distributing “trauma porn”. Here it was dispatched exquisitely.
It has a decent run time which doesn’t drag on too long and it does well to keep you engaged through out. Recommended watch.
Did you catch on quickly with the wig itching? Which plot twist caught you off guard? Do you also just boil your chicken? Are you securing jobs just off the football team you support? Do you want a sequel? React and comment below…
I’ll put it on the List !
From when I heard Jordan Peele esque has to be wild 😳!
This is definitely going on my list. But I will have to come back and finish off this review because you will sway my thoughts!
I wasn’t a fan of the majority of the casts acting.
Bukky Bakray and the dad excluded.
The story seemed quite forced. I understand the narrative and what was trying to be portrayed, the wigs, erasing blackness, the alopecia/thinning, the life she left, and now lived but it wasn’t written in a engaging way for me.
The scene that the movie starts with was written poor imo…”I got sales rep of the year three times in a row, I shouldn’t be living like this”. Come on.
Positives.
Ending was good. I liked how it was done.
The scene where the water was running for what seemed like eons, kudos. Great directing.
The entrance of the two kids with the giggs backdrop 🤌🏾
But these were very mini highlights in a host of non highlights.
Decent movie. But a not for me.
Really interesting storyline.
I did finish the movie questioning why a movie based around colorism, ended with all the Black people involved being seen as villains? I feel they could have gone another way with this, as it did start off well for me.
– Why did the black people have to be the aggressors and moving mad in the end?
– With regards to how it ended… in this life… fear who? **whatsapp eyes**
I was left feeling annoyed at how this movie ended any why did there beed to be so much useless suspense. On the other hand it wasn’t that useless because it was thought provoking but I found myself getting frustrated and pausing the movie to see how low left to get my questions answered! My biggest question was WHO are these to characters from her past? Her siblings? Her ex and her sister? Take off the damn wigs! Her accent change is good, she played the part well. What happened to the bully basketball player? The movie was in titled chapters, which may have done better as a series. After all that i would likely watch the next sequel and hope for a better ending.