Ever since Hansel and Gretel (1812), there have been numerous stories about abandoned children having to fend for themselves. From a group of Japanese minors in Nobody Knows (2004) or just one Afro-Brazilian teenager in Socrates (2019), there have been several films where children are left alone and have to survive under their own wits. Two of the most powerful entries were The Dynamiter (2011) and Goldie (2020), but the circumstances in those flicks don't equate to the one here. The closest comparison is possibly The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013) where two young Black boys have their mother disappear and have to make it on their own in an urban environment. The Dynamiter is about two young White boys basically on their own in a rural environment. Their situation isn't as dire, but there are some aesthetic similarities but mainly thematic ones, such as the dynamic between brothers. One is more masculine. The other is more passive. One is stronger. The other is weaker. It's a common dynamic between siblings, older and younger. It's also the dynamic that we see in this film.
Marcus Scribner (How To Blow Up a Pipeline and Black-ish) stars as Daniel Davis, a boy around the age of 18, maybe a little older. It looks like he lives in Los Angeles or somewhere in southern California. He's applying for college and financial aid to get housing. He works at a restaurant as a dishwasher. Every night, he takes home leftovers for himself and for his younger brother. The reason he does so is because his home is just him and his smaller sibling. We see flashbacks of Daniel's mother and father having dinner with them as a family, but something happened to leave Daniel and his brother totally alone.
Lonnie Chavis (Lawmen: Bass Reeves and This Is Us) co-stars as Eli Davis, the younger brother to Daniel. He's 14-years-old. He has a speech impediment. In fact, he has a serious stutter. It makes him not want to talk. His preference is to be quiet, which is exacerbated by his father being abusive to him. That abuse manifested in Eli's dad berating him in the bathroom and in the bathtub, saying homophobic things to him. As a result, Eli doesn't like to go into the shower. He also prefers to sleep in bed with his brother. Eli is quite sensitive. There's some question that he might be gay, but that's only questioned briefly by the owner of a 3-legged dog. We also do see at one point Eli dressed in his mama's clothes.
Without their parents, it becomes difficult for Daniel to pay the bills, including utilities and rent. Writer-director Simon Steuri in his feature debut explores the desperation of these two young people, which is a reflection of people in comparable circumstances. Steuri's film could be a reflection of the homeless population in Los Angeles for example. It reminded me of Imperial Dreams (2017), which was about a homeless, Black man with his son, living out of his car. Will Smith's film, Pursuit of Happyness (2006) was a story of a homeless, Black man with his son, living in a shelter. Both had this father-son dynamic, which is somewhat mirrored between Daniel and Eli. Both focused on the exploits of the father, attempting to care for their son financially, despite the impoverished conditions.
This film is basically a two-hander between Daniel and Eli. For Daniel, he's the father-figure equivalent, but it's less about his exploits to provide for his younger relative financially. For Daniel, it's more about his coping mechanisms, whether it's this magical realism component of him floating or it's this tradition of writing on the ceiling. However, a stronger chunk of this film is about Eli's coping mechanism and how he deals with this whole situation. It focuses on the mental health of both, but there seems to be a leaning toward Eli's perspective, even though Daniel is the voice-over narrator.
Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop and The Steve Harvey Show) plays a next door neighbor who seems to know the truth, but he can't seem to go as far as bringing in the authorities or government because of the threat that the two boys would be separated and placed into foster care away from each other. Method Man (Power Book II: Ghost and The Wire) rounds out the cast as Cliff Davis, the abusive father and he certainly plays abusive scarily well.
Not Rated but for 16 and up.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 43 mins.
Available on VOD.
