‘Scarlet’ (‘L’Envol’) Never Becomes the Fairytale It Seeks to Be [CANNES REVIEW]

Italian director Pietro Marcello’s French-set film Scarlet (L’Envol) is ambitious. Adapted from Russian writer Alexandre Grin’s 1923 novel Scalet Sails, the film centers on a young woman, Juliette (newcomer Juliette Jouan), through her childhood and into her early adult years. Juliette is raised in the French countryside of Normandy by her father, Raphaël (Raphaël Thiéry), and a caring widow Adeline (Noémie Lvovsky), who houses the father/daughter duo on her farm. Adeline steps into the role of a surrogate mother following the death of Raphaël’s wife.

Continue reading at Showbiz Cheatsheet.

Simone Ashley of ‘Bridgerton’ Cracks Open the Magic of ‘Kanthony’

Everyone who’s watched Bridgerton Season 2 knows that Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) isn’t a people pleaser. In fact, it’s one of the things Ashley loves most about her character. Kate relocates with her sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and their mother, Lady Mary (Shelley Conn), to Regency England, just in time to participate in the season’s marriage market. Kate and Mary have high hopes of finding Edwina a suitable husband and securing their family’s future, but Kate refuses to be pinned in by the rules that define the Regency-era social season.

She embarks on unchaperoned early morning horseback rides and is ambivalent about being labeled a spinster at 26. She’s sharp, demanding and capable, acting as a buffer between her sister — whom Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) has crowned the season’s diamond — and the suitors who might court Edwina for the wrong reasons. “When I had the material of Kate put in front of me, I could definitely see that this was a complicated character that maybe some people wouldn’t fully understand until you get to know her,” Ashley tells Tudum. “I think that’s what I loved about Kate. You had to earn her trust to truly get to know her heart, the person she is and her story.”

Continue reading at Netflix’s TUDUM.

How ‘Pieces of Her’ and ‘The Lost Daughter’ Shatter the Illusion of Motherhood

Growing up on Chicago’s south side in the ’90s and early 2000s, Black women were always the mothers. Or at least that’s how it seemed. My mother, a gorgeous brown-skinned woman from the west side, with 12 siblings and an MBA, stood at the center. Other mothers were in her orbit as well — neighbors, aunts, cousins, even the mothers I saw on TV.

The Cosby Show’s Clair Huxtable, Moesha’s Dee Mitchell, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Aunt Viv felt familiar because they resembled the real-life mothers in my life, who all made motherhood seem effortless. They dressed elegantly, easily juggled the demands of their careers with parenting and still seemed to have ample time for themselves. As a result, I assumed mothering was easy. But that’s the thing: So much of what we perceive about motherhood is an illusion. It wasn’t until I was well into my 20s, reflecting back on my childhood that I realized all of the challenges that these women faced.

Continue reading at Netflix’s Tudum.

In ‘Descendant,’ The Clotilda Slave Ship Wreckage Is Only The Beginning

In 1860 on the eve of the American Civil War and 52 years after the international slave trade was outlawed in the U.S., 110 African men, women, and children arrived on the shores of Alabama in a ship called Clotilda. The captives were sold to various plantations, and the vessel was set ablaze by Timothy Meaher, the man who had chartered the illegal expedition. 

One hundred sixty-two years later, filmmaker Margaret Brown has turned her lens toward the descendants of Clotilda’s survivors in her captivating documentary film Descendant. The story of the Clotilda has always been alive and well amongst the descendants of the ship’s survivors. Many of them still call Africatown, Alabama – founded in 1866 by the formally enslaved – home. When the ship’s wreckage was found in 2019, the world began to pay attention. But as Brown’s film suggests, many more questions still arise. 

Continue reading at Essence.

For ‘The Woman in the House,’ Escapism Comes with a Hefty Glass of Red Wine

Life’s ebbs and flows aren’t for the faint of heart. Even those with seemingly idyllic lives must navigate heartbreak, grief and other forms of trauma. Though this creates a shared human experience, we all deal with those pains differently. For Anna (Kristen Bell), the protagonist in The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, coping involves multiple carafe-size glasses of red wine, an engrossing novel, a half-dozen hefty chicken casseroles and some indulgent fantasies about her new, handsome next-door neighbor, Neil (Tom Riley). 

After her daughter’s tragic death, Anna’s incapable of moving forward with her life. Instead, she’s left clinging to the last pieces of her sanity. She’s in a great deal of pain, so verbally sparring with her judgmental neighbor, Carol (Brenda Koo), and hosting her overbearing sister, Sloane (Mary Holland), are the only elements that slice through the monotony of her day-to-day. She’s unable to continue her career as a painter, or find some other purpose, so she numbs herself with alcohol and pills. 

Continue reading at Netflix’s TUDUM.

In ‘Alice’ A Historical Narrative Dissolves Into Melodrama

Alice begins with a blood-curdling scream. As the film comes into focus, the audience meets Alice (Keke Palmer), an enslaved woman on the run. Before her destination is revealed, the film pulls us back in time to a plantation in rural Georgia. Surrounded by her loved ones, Alice secretly weds a man named Joseph (Gaius Charles) in a darkened cabin. However, no sooner have the newlywed couple said their vows are they beckoned outside by the plantation owner, Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). The audience learns quickly that Paul luxuriates in endless acts of cruelty include sexual and physical violence. 

Alice’s world has been depicted in countless films, including Harriet, 12 Years A Slave and, the oddly similar Antebellum. In Alice, first-time filmmaker Krystin Ver Linden painstakingly takes the time to sit in this setting of horrors, depicting everything from iron muzzles to beatings and alarming talks of human breeding. Unfortunately, this adds nothing new to the narratives of this time period. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

‘Emergency’ Is A Striking Commentary On Racial Dynamics, Humanity, and Brotherhood

For many people, there is never a more invigorating time in life than those final months of college before being thrust into the “real world.” The uncertainty ahead leads many of us to cling to those last joyous weeks with friends in a setting that has turned into something of a home. In Carey Williams’ outstanding Emergency, adapted from his short film of the same name, best friends and roommates Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler) are about to embark on an epic night touring the school’s frat parties with hopes of making it into the Black Student Union’s Hall of Fame. However, what appears to be a comedy about Black men in their final weeks at their predominantly white college becomes a gripping commentary on racism and humanity.  

Kunle and Sean could not be more different. A science nerd who spends his days in a biology lab, Kunle is the son of African immigrants with plans to head to Princeton University to earn his Ph.D. In contrast, the care-free perpetually high Sean has no concerns or objectives for the future. Instead, he’s focused on partying and rekindling things with his crush. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

John Boyega And The Late Michael K. Williams Bring Compassion To The Hostage Drama ‘892’

“They Didn’t Have to Kill Him.” That’s the name of Aaron Gell’s 2018 article on which Abi Damaris Corbin’s debut feature film 892 is based. The hauntingly dark film centers on the real-life story of Lance Corporal Brian Brown Easley, who on a July day in 2017 walked into a Wells Fargo bank based in the suburbs of Atlanta and held it up, taking several hostages. In a stunning performance actor John Boyega, steps into the shoes of the desperate former Marine who, having exhausted all of his resources, made a desperate choice to get the money owed to him.

The nightmarish red-tape that runs through the Department of Veterans Affairs is well known. Still, in focusing on Brian, Corbin puts a face to just one of numerous veterans who served this country and are now left to flounder with food and home insecurity, as well as mental illnesses. It is a situation continually brought to the forefront of society that has never been truly addressed. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Thandiwe Newton Is Intoxicating In The Slow-Burning Film 'God's Country’

As God’s Country opens, a woman walks into a dimly lit crematorium. This initial scene snaps the eerie tone of Julian Higgins’s film into place. As the world of the film opens up, the viewers learn that the lone woman at the crematorium is Sandra (Thandiwe Newton). It’s just before Christmas, and she’s grieving the loss of her estranged mother. 

A humanities professor at the local university, Sandra is well-liked by her students and more than equipped to do her job. But the unnamed Montana town surrounding her, including its mountains and people, are stark white. Higgins didn’t need the aid of a desaturated color palette to zero in on Sandra’s otherness, but this Black woman’s solitary state in this environment only fuels the sinister nature of the film.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

In Nikyatu Jusu's ‘Nanny’ The American Dream Is A Horror Story

Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, modern-day motherhood and the unequal burden of parenting that often sits with women has never been more apparent. However, many women, particularly women of color who come to this country, continue to raise the children of affluent white people. In Nikyatu Jusu’s feature film debut, Nanny, one caregiver grapples with the challenges of her position while striving for her version of the American dream. 

Aisha (Anna Diop) is a Senegalese immigrant finding her footing in New York City. Staying in Harlem with her aunt, Aisha, is thrilled to find work with a wealthy white couple as a nanny to their bright young daughter, Rose (Rose Decker). The opportunity will enable Aisha to send for her young son Lamine (Jahleel Kamara), who remains in Senegal in the care of her sister, Mariatou (Olamide Candide-Johnson).

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

‘Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul’ Is A Sharp Examination Of The Black Megachurch

It’s fitting that Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul opens with Black Jesus. Christianity stands at the foundation of the lives of many Black people across the globe. The Black American church, in particular, has origins that begin amid the transatlantic slave trade. It is a pillar in the Black community that has remained prominent as a place of worship, service, fellowship, and so much more from the Reconstruction Era into the present. 

Writer/director Adamma Ebo’s dark comedy is a striking commentary on what Black church culture has become. Instead of places of refuge for Black people from all walks of life, many congregations now center on showmanship, greed, deep-seated misogynoir, hypocrisy, and bigotry. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ Is Anchored By Fame and Friendship

Fame isn’t normal. It doesn’t even seem humane. Yet, from the beginning of his life, Kanye West was determined to be recognized and revered for his gifts. The rapper/producer/fashion designer was determined to earn his status as a musical legend even if he ran himself into the ground to see it through. 

Since his acclaimed debut album, College Dropout, some 18 years ago, so much has been said about the eccentric rapper from Chicago. Like many celebrities who reach global icon status, he’s been admired, lauded, critiqued, and condemned. Through his work, actions, and statements, Kanye has earned all of this. For a man who has become almost a caricature of how he was once perceived, it’s easy to question if we, the public —current fans and those still longing for the old Kanye — ever knew him at all. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Sundance's ‘Master’ Grapples With The Terror Of Othering

Belonging. We all have an emotional need to feel accepted and embraced by others. If we’re lucky, that sense of allyship begins in the comfort of our homes surrounded by loved ones. However, finding it outside of those spaces, particularly in predominantly white institutions (PWI), can be a daunting task often confounded with feelings of isolation and even terror. 

In her feature film debut Master, filmmaker Mariama Diallo grapples with the psychological effects of racial terror and the pitfalls of ignoring the lessons of history. Set at a New England-based Ivy League University, Master centers on Gail Bishop (Regina Hall). She is the sole tenured Black professor who has been newly elected as a “Master,” or a dean of students — the first Black person in the university’s history to hold such a role. 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Black Women's Stories Are Center Stage At Sundance 2022

For the second year in a row, amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Sundance Film Festival is offering its expansive slate online. Festival Director Tabitha Jackson and Producing Director Gina Duncan initially hoped to do a hybrid festival, offering in-person and virtual screenings. However, amid the Omicron surge, filmmakers and audiences are connecting in the comfort and safety of their own homes. Despite the shift in plans, this year’s films will reflect the ever-changing world that we know around us. 

Sundance 2022 will run from January 20–30. This year there are several Black directors at the helm of some of the most highly anticipated films of the festival. Moreover, fans of the late Michael K. Williams will have a chance to see him in one of his final roles.

From a 1970’s set drama Alice, starring KeKe Palmer to the Regina Hall-produced Master, here are a few of the highlights.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Tabitha Jackson And Gina Duncan Have A New Vision For The Sundance Film Festival

For nearly 40 years, the goal of the Sundance Film Festival has been to connect storytellers and audiences through the medium of cinema. As the film industry has shifted and transformed to become more expansive, diverse, and inclusive, Sundance has also evolved. In 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the film festival was entirely virtual, pulling in people from the safety and comfort of their homes into an expansive and connected online festival. 

Using the experiences of last year, Festival Director Tabitha Jackson and Producing Director Gina Duncan are forging ahead. They had hoped to debut a new format for the 2022 festival, redesigned as a hybrid. Sundance wanted attendees to have the option to attend the festival in person on the mountain in Park City, Utah. For others who preferred the comfort of their own homes, screenings, talks, and events would be available online.

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Deconstructing the Sex Appeal of LaKeith Stanfield Across Four Roles

There are few actors as versatile and intensely arresting as LaKeith Stanfield. Since appearing in Destin Daniel Cretton's Short Term 12 upon graduating from high school, Stanfield has gone on to work with premier talents, including Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele and Donald Glover. Most recently, he joined his contemporaries Jonathan Majors, Regina King and Idris Elba in Netflix’s thunderous Western The Harder They Fall.

Continue reading at Netflix’s Tudum.

Chanté Adams Doesn't Want To Be Labeled

“What is to give light must endure burning” is one of Chanté Adams’s favorite sayings. Reflecting on this quote from Austrian philosopher Viktor Frankl, the actress says, “It means that the struggle is worth it. I always have to remind myself that the light is there and it’s going to come. It’s not going to come on my time, but it’s going to come when it should.” 

In 2017, just one year out of drama school, Adams, 26, was cast as the lead in Netflix’s Roxanne Roxanne, portraying hip-hop pioneer Roxanne Shanté. From that moment forward, her career has blazed. Historically, Black women have worked for decades in Hollywood before they’re afforded the title “leading lady.” And love stories that center Black women are still a rarity. “We still have some ways to go, but I feel like we’re on the right path,” Adams says. “We’re not allowing ourselves to be put off to the side anymore. I’m not saying the generation before us did so, but I feel like we’re at a place now where we can start demanding what we want, and what we want to see.” 

Continue reading at ESSENCE.

Photography | Joyanne Panton 

Stylist | Shameelah Hicks

Hair | Sean Fears

Manicurist | Alex Jachno

Nail Design | Aja Walton, Maho Tanaka

The Many Lives of Regina King

Treacherous Trudy Smith was a bold and brazen Black woman who thrived in the Wild West. Living on the edge, Trudy made a name for herself by pickpocketing. Though little else is known about her, director Jeymes Samuel knew he needed someone legendary to bring Trudy to the big screen in The Harder They Fall. Naturally, he turned to Academy Award-winning actor Regina King.

Continue reading at Netflix’s Tudum.

‘King Richard’: How Breakouts Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton Aced Venus and Serena Williams

No one else on this planet has accomplished what Venus and Serena Williams have. For the Williams sisters, their unmatched success in tennis is just the tip of the iceberg. And even that seems as if it should never have happened: for a pair of Black girls growing up in Compton, California, an elite sport that requires copious amounts of money, access, and time — in addition to plain old talent — shouldn’t have even been on their radar.

But as the crowd-pleasing new drama “King Richard” suggests, Venus and Serena’s parents were determined to give them (and their sisters) a better life and all the opportunities that comes with it. That drive and ambition, along with the family’s shared worth ethic, helped launch the pair into superstardom at a young age, ensuring that they will forever go down as two of the greatest athletes ever to live.

Continue reading at Indiewire.

Intense drama and new characters give Power Book II: Ghost a soap opera flair in season 2

Seven years ago, TV viewers were introduced to Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.), the 12-year-old son of drug kingpin James “Ghost” St. Patrick and his ride-or-die wife, Tasha St. Patrick, in Power. Throughout six seasons of the Courtney Kemp-created series, Tariq transformed from a precocious young tween into a grown man whose sinister and calculating demeanor is more like his father’s than he’d ever care to admit. Now in Power Book II: Ghost, which picks up directly after the events of the original series, Tariq is coming into his own.

The first season of the spin-off chronicled Tariq’s life in the days and weeks following his father’s murder. Determined to adhere to the conditions of his father’s will, Tariq enrolled in the prestigious Stansfield University to obtain his degree. However, with his mother on trial for his father’s murder, he found himself following in Ghost’s footsteps as a means of financial freedom.

Continue reading at The A.V. Club.