Well done modern take on a Bonnie and Clyde like story.
This film is at its strongest when it is just our two main characters on screen together talking. These are very strongly written characters played by two very talented performers. Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner Smith have perfect chemistry and it is a joy to watch them share the screen. Lena Waithe and James Frey's screenplay provides these characters with very intelligent thought provoking dialogue. Adding in how Melina Matsouka's stylish direction and Tat Radcliffe's masterful cinematography always provide us with something very pleasant to look at, these scenes provide us with all we could have possibly wanted from this movie, a thoughtful, thought provoking and intelligent road movie.
However these scenes don't make up the whole movie. The weakest points of this film are pretty much all the other characters. While our two main characters are very well thought out believable people, all the other character simply amount to stereotypes rather than actual people. Similarly while our two main characters are supplied with intelligent thought provoking dialogue, these side characters are often bogged down with very clumsy dialogue.
The story itself is a good one and there is no doubt that these on the lam road movies will never lose their appeal. While there are no real surprises along the way and sometimes the film can feel familiar, the story is still well told and often quite gripping. Though I will admit since we all know where this movie is heading, it can feel overlong and too drawn out at times.
This is not a perfect movie by any means. However despite its faults not only is there is still a lot to enjoy here but what is well done is extremely well done.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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