CAPTIVE STATE (2019) – My rating 6/10

Captive State is a science fiction thriller directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Wyatt and Erica Beeney. The film follows a young man who is a participant in the conspiracy argument against an alien race that has invaded Earth, and enforced strict martial law on all humans. I had never heard of this movie and after seeing it, I know why. I found it confusing at best. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $5 million worldwide.

Currently, Chicago is placed under martial law when extraterrestrials invade across the globe. The Drummond family is attempting to flee the city but every exit is barricaded. After breaking through an unmanned barricade that lead inside a tunnel, the car had to stop because extraterrestrials were waiting at the other end. Before they could put the car in reverse, the aliens attacked, vaporizing the father and mother in the front seat of the car, leaving their two sons traumatized but alive in the backseat.

Nine years later, the world has succumbed to the invaders and submitted to their governing authority, calling the aliens “The Legislators”, because all subsequent laws and rules of governance come from them. In the years that followed Earth’s surrender, the extraterrestrials conscripted humans to build suitable alien habitats far underground; the Chicago habitat is located in a region called the “Closed Zone” and is walled off from the rest of the city.  Access to the Closed Zone is only granted to high government officials and requires intense preparation after an invitation is extended and before admittance.  The aliens utilize Earth’s own human resources to police the population, including military and law enforcement, now called “Special Branch” and have placed biological implants in every citizen, which serve as identification when scanned by surveillance drones or other apparatus. Their use of propaganda and false narratives that state the country is prospering, allows the aliens to successfully lull the public into a submissive state.

Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the youngest of the sons who survived when his parents were vaporized years ago, lives in the impoverished neighborhood of Pilsen with his girlfriend Rula (Madeline Brewer) and tries to avoid any confrontations with the law. Gabriel is working at a scheme to escape using a boat he and his friend Jurgis (Machine Gun Kelly) have salvaged to cross Lake Michigan, hopefully to freedom. In the meanwhile, his day job is in a data reclamation center where various storage devices are seized to upload private content to a central server, which ultimately delivers citizen’s personal information to authorities and The Legislators. One day at work Gabriel witnesses a coworker attempt to smuggle a memory card out of the building and she is caught by government agents, then deported off-world. He is later confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman), who was partners with Gabriel’s father before the invasion. Mulligan is convinced that the resistance group called Phoenix has not been neutralized, contrary to what the public has been told.

As you can see, this is a very complicated plot because it gets deeper with each passing minute.  I haven’t begun to reveal the meat of this story.  Don’t forget, Gabriel has a brother, Rate (Jonathan Majors) or that there was or is a resistance.  There are clues and flash drives and all sorts of twist and turns that go into this puzzling story.  You never really get the sense that you completely know what’s going on nor do you get the sense that you know where this film is going, even when it goes.  I think a lot more story telling was needed in order to bring closure to Captive State.  There were too many loose ends introduced that didn’t really flow into the story line, leaving too much to the imagination.  I’m unsure what was happening at the end, (maybe it was just over my head) leaving me confused and unfulfilled.  I’m not saying someone else might not understand it, but I am saying a descent story could have been a great story with some much needed tweaking.  Of course this is my opinion so Check It Out if you dare!

 

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (2018) – My rating: 8/10

If Beale Street Could Talk is a romantic drama directed and written by Barry Jenkins, based on James Baldwin’s 1969 novel of the same name. It follows a young African-American woman who, with her family’s support, seeks to clear the name of her wrongly charged lover and prove his innocence before the birth of their child. There’s been lots of marketing of this movie, beware of over zealous advertising!  Still, I liked the film.

Clementine “Tish” Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) have been friends their entire lives. As children, they did everything together, from taking baths to playing in the streets.  As adults, they enter a romantic relationship together and hold a bond between them that can’t be broken. After deciding to get married, they struggle to find a place to live as most landlords refuse to rent apartments to black people. Eventually they found a place in a warehouse that is in the process of being converted to an apartment building. Levy (Dave Franco), the Jewish landlord, agrees to rent it to them at a reasonable rate due to the fact that he enjoys seeing couples in love, regardless of their race.

**** SOME SPOILERS ****

One night, when Tish is shopping at a predominately White grocery store, she is harassed by a White man. When he begins to assault her, Fonny physically throws the man out of the store.  Officer Bell (Ed Skrein), who was nearby witnesses the incident but because of his racist background, attempts to arrest Fonny.  Bell reluctantly lets Fonny go when the lady who runs the grocery store vouches for the couple.  Soon after the incident, Fonny is arrested for raping a Hispanic woman, despite the fact that it would have been virtually impossible for Fonny to travel from the scene of the crime to the apartment where he was arrested. The case against Fonny is considered strong due to Officer Bell’s testimony, who says the he saw Fonny fleeing the scene plus Victoria Rogers (Emily Rios), the victim, picks him out of a line-up then disappears after identifying Fonny as her rapist. Tish, as well as Fonny’s friend, Daniel Carty (Brian Tyree Henry), were with Fonny and would be his alibi at the time of the rape, but their testimony isn’t considered reliable due to Tish’s romantic relationship with Fonny, and Daniel’s previous conviction for grand theft auto (despite his claim to not even know how to drive a car).

While the film is dealing with the most delicate of matters, it doesn’t give any closure to the story. If Beale Street could Talk opens at the apartment where the Rivers family live. A routine family dinner is taking place, showing the closeness of the family and their status in the community. Learning of Tish’s pregnancy, they decide to invite Fonny’s family over to share the news. The scene gets down right hilarious as insults and accusations fly between the two families. Tish’s mother, Sharon Rivers (Regina King) has a way of showing her feelings through a series of facial expressions that would scare off most but then speaks in the most kind and soft voice that would make most melt. Tish’s father, Joseph Rivers (Coleman Domingo) is funny and supportive. Their story is heart felt and is worthy of anger directed at a tiresome racial problem that makes no sense. The saddest part, is we are still experiencing racism at the highest level and still we struggle to rise above it, tell our stories and suffer in hopes the problem ends before the world perishes. Hate is a terrible thing and we could achieve so much more without it. I enjoyed If Beale Street Could Talk, I just think it was a little over marketed.  Despite the appearance of a low budget the performances were quite believable, the story has much more to offer so Check it Out!

[If Beale Street Could Talk is Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score]