Focusing on the shrapnel of a revolution is good cause for high drama. The means that justified an end that will never come. Writer/director Tanya Hamilton uses this arc in her debut feature Night Catches Us, the story of an ex-panther (Anthony Mackie) come home to Philadelphia, regarded as a snitch to everyone in town, save the widow (Kerry Washington) of the dead panther he supposedly ratted on.
It’s the other side of American History X, painted on a much larger canvas. History’s a significant character in Hamilton’s film, Black Panther archival footage transitioning from scene to scene. It’s a ghost that’s haunting Washington’s Patty. During a fight with a lawyer boyfriend, he suggests spontaneously that she move in with him. “We can’t leave here. We have roots here,” she says. The “roots” she’s referring to include the gruesome death of her husband, along with several other panthers during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. And while she won’t let go of her roots, Patty’s not willing to revisit the past, much to the chagrin of her precocious 9-year old daughter Iris.
Jamara Griffin, playing Iris, matches up impressively with Mackie and Washington, giving a children’s performance as strong and honest as that of Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson. Like Epps, Griffin went into the film without much experience, and the lack of polish does her wonders. She’s not trying to be a curious child. She is a curious child.
Mackie continues to earn his salt on the indie circuit, still waiting for the break his Hurt Locker co-star Jeremy Renner got with an Oscar nod last year. As Marcus, Mackie never plays it anything but righteous. This is clearly a good man with his fair share of regret. Marcus never says much to anyone, but says a whole lot to those watching with his eyes and face. How heavy his regret is what makes him somewhat enigmatic.
And though Mackie puts up a good fight, he ultimately loses the tug-of-war going on between him and Washington, who ends up stealing many of the scenes she’s in. A good part of that, however, is due to Hamilton’s script, which shifts the focus defiantly on the Patty character as the film pushes forward. Hamilton avoids using to much dialogue, aware that all of the characters already know what’s happened in the past, and don’t have to spell it out for each other. The only one waiting for an explanation is Iris. And we, the viewers. Hamilton takes her time getting there, and it’s well-worth the wait.
Pacing is uprooted a bit here and there. The break-up with her lawyer boyfriend happens so abruptly, conveniently allowing Marcus to enter her life, it hardly feels legitimate and some of the archival transitions feel more like filler than anything else. Running at 88 minutes, Night Catches Us ends a bit fast and feels like it’s missing a scene or two. Marcus’ brother appears at the film’s beginning, sparking a confrontation between the two, and then disappears. The same happens to DoRight (played tough by Jamie ‘Marlo from The Wire‘ Hector), a panther running a local bar, determined to take revenge on Marcus for his betrayal.
Even still, Hamilton takes her time with what’s on screen. Wide shots live for a while and contain more than enough production design to marvel at. She’s a true filmmaker, with truly great films ahead of her. This is a great start.
Have you heard of Night Catches Us? Will you seek it out?