Walter Mosley is an African American author who has been publishing books since the 1990's. He's currently written several dozen. Mosley came to fame when his debut novel was adapted into a feature film, starring Denzel Washington, that of Devil in a Blue Dress (1995). That was his first and since only book to be turned to the big screen and cinemas. Mosley has had a couple other books adapted for television. This project, co-written by Mosley and directed by Nadia Latif, in her feature debut, looked like it had the potential to be released similarly as Devil in a Blue Dress, but it merely got an Oscar-qualifying run before being released to its streaming service. That Denzel Washington film was based on the book series that Mosley created about detective Easy Rawlins. The Easy Rawlins' series is by far Mosley's most popular books. Yet, no other book in that series has been adapted. It's strange that of all of his books, this one would be chosen. This film was developed about three or so years ago, not that far away from the height of COVID-19. Perhaps, it was believed that this film could be easily produced because of the limited cast and because it mostly takes place in one location, with characters literally locked in a house. Perhaps, Latif and Mosley, along with the producers thought it could be a kind of reflection of that pandemic lock-down situation that we had in 2020 into 2021.
Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple and Straight Outta Compton) stars as Charles Blakey, a Black man born and raised in Sag Harbor, New York. He's estranged from his family who mainly don't talk to him because he's refused to get a job and he's always begging them for money. He's still living in his family home, which has been in his family for eight generations but is now only inhabited by him, since the passing of his parents and uncle who were the last residents. Charles has seemingly inherited the house but still owes money on it, like taxes and whatnot. He doesn't have the money to pay it and again he's neglected getting a job, so the bank is moving to foreclose on the house unless he can find the cash.
Willem Dafoe, the four-time Oscar nominee, co-stars as Anniston Bennet, a wealthy white man who arrives one day and tells Charles that he will pay all Charles' bills, literally giving him $65,000, which would help to save Charles from foreclosure. The only thing Anniston wants is to rent Charles' basement for two months. At first, Charles resists, but his financial situation seems dire and he doesn't want to lose the family house, so he reluctantly agrees. Without spoiling what happens, something strange occurs that basically causes Anniston to be locked in the basement unable to get out. In effect, both Anniston and Charles become trapped. They are separate from each other, but both are in a situation where they are forced together and forced to talk to each other. Arguably, one is the prisoner of the other.
A lot of what is discussed and a lot of what's revealed has to do with family history. The family history of not only Charles but of Anniston. Literally, Charles discovers antiques from his family's history that he never knew was there. Also, Anniston has to confront his history, which is connected to his family but also connected to his actions or misdeeds from his past. It's hinted that Charles has some misdeeds in his past and rather recent past that is haunting him. The dialogue that progresses builds to the two of them having to confront those misdeeds and deal with them. The inciting incident is Anniston's secret reason for picking Charles' house and renting his basement. In that, there appears to be some racial guilt that sprang from initial racial animus with which this film is somewhat grappling. Strangely, I don't think the film spends enough time with Anniston to sell that aspect.
Despite moments of dialogue between Charles and Anniston, the film spends an inordinate amount of time with the two characters separate and alone. I actually thought of Steve Guttenberg's P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (2002), which is an adaptation of James Kirkwood, Jr's play that is similarly about two men locked in a home and having to deal with each other where one is literally the prisoner of the other. Yet, that film keeps the two guys constantly in each other's orbits, talking to each other and seeing each other. Latif's film doesn't do that. Her film separates Charles and Anniston, so there isn't that kind of a relationship. Even something like Rob Reiner's Misery (1990), which was about two people essentially locked together in a home where one is the prisoner of the other built more of a relationship between the two main characters.
There is a dynamic between Charles and Anniston that develops, which adds in what could have been a thriller. Anna Diop (The Book of Clarence and 24: Legacy) plays Narciss Gully, an antiques dealer who Charles meets and with whom he develops a bit of a romance. Her presence could have been utilized more in order to amp up the thriller aspects. The fact that Anniston is in Charles' basement is a secret, so having Narciss almost find out about him could have amped up the thriller aspects, but yet she mainly exists to explore this issue of family legacy and Black history, which are elements here that I'm not sure congeals all that well with what's happening between Charles and Anniston. The family history is almost a tangential thing in this narrative. At the end, I simply didn't understand why Anniston chose to do what he did from the beginning to the end, particularly when it came to choosing Charles. There is a dialogue to explain, but the film never really sold it to me.
Rated R for language, sexual content, graphic nudity and some violent content.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 54 mins.
Available on Hulu.