Movie Review: A Thousand and One

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A beautiful and gut-wrenching character study. 

This movie mostly functions as a character study and luckily this is where it works brilliantly. The main character of this film is so compelling that it gets hard to look away from the screen. What makes this character work so well is that she is a quite complex person and the film never seems to go out of its way to make her either sympathetic or unlikeable. Instead the movie just wants to show her as deeply human and real. This keeps the story for ever feeling false or forced. It also allows us to connect with her on a deeper emotional level. Even if the character herself never seems to reach out to us for sympathy, we simply can't help but put ourselves and her shoes and go through this emotional journey with her. Some moments along this journey can be so overwhelming as to be difficult to watch but at the same time, I was so invested that I couldn't look away if I wanted to. Much of this effectiveness is due to the simply incredible performance by Teyana Taylor. She has made a name for herself as a singer and dancer and has played some comedic roles in movies. However here she certainly showed that she has dramatic chops far beyond what anyone would except. These types of films depend heavily upon the performance of their stars. If their performance feels false, then the whole movie will feel false. Yet her performance here is so incredibly real that you forget you are watching an actress, but instead feel like you are watching a real person live her life. The pure humanity in this performance will tear your heart out in a way that feels completely real and effortless. She makes this character's love of her son feel so real and powerful. Since the relationship between her and her son is what the whole story revolves around, this is incredibly important. The story and this relationship take some wonderful turns, with each one feeling completely real and natural. 

This film takes place in New York City and the city often times becomes the third most important character. This depiction of New York is far from an idealized one, often reflecting some harsh realities. Yet the film does not take a simply negative view of the city and you can tell that underneath the criticisms there is also a full acknowledgement of the beauty and the appeal of New York. This can be seen in much of the great location shooting. This combination of love and criticism creates an incredibly real and powerful cinematic depiction of the city and puts this film far above more simplistic takes on the city in so many other movies. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that director A.V. Rockwell (from him this is incredibly her first feature length film) is a New York Native herself. This movie takes place over the course of over a decade and during that time period, New York goes through many changes along with our main characters creating a wonderful parallel that only makes the story more real and powerful. It also gives this movie an even greater sense of authenticity, while allowing for some great social commentary that feels completely natural. 

I will admit that some of the supporting characters come off as a little bland and that there are moments of the story that feel quite familiar, but these are small faults considering the true beauty of everything else.

This is simply a must watch.