Posts Tagged ‘Aml Ameen’

RUSTIN: 3 STARS. “comes alive whenever the charismatic Domingo is on screen.”

In “Rustin,” a new reverential historical drama now streaming on Netflix, Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo plays Bayard Rustin, a gay Black man whose vision and tenacity had an outsized effect on the Civil Rights Movement. He’s been largely forgotten by history but “Rustin,” produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, serves as a potent reminder of his activist legacy.

The story of the run-up to 1963’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, “Rustin” sets the stage with harrowing images of 1950s segregation.

Cut to 1960 and a plan between Rustin and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr’s. (Aml Ameen) to launch a protest march on the Democratic National Convention. The plan is thwarted by U.S. Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr’s. (Jeffrey Wright) threat of a misinformation campaign, linking the two men romantically. Powell’s allegation, while untrue, causes a rift between the two men that sees Rustin kicked to the curb.

Three years later Rustin hatches another plan, a massive, non-violent march on Washington to pressure the Kennedy administration to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress.

With little to no support from DC’s power base, due to racism, his former communist membership and his sexuality—“When it comes to the old guard,” he says, “I’m considered a pariah.”—Rustin seeks support from his estranged friend King. “Do this Dr. King,” he says. “Own your power.”

The next eight tumultuous weeks find Rustin balancing his personal life—an affair with married preacher Elias (Johnny Ramey)—and his work with King and their band of “angelic troublemakers” as they arrange one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history. “On August 28,” he says, “Black, white, young, old, rich, working-class, poor will descend on Washington, DC.”

“Rustin” tells the story of a landmark moment in the battle for Civil Rights, but this isn’t just a history lesson. It’s really is a character study of the charming, driven man who made it happen.

The movie itself is stagey and straightforward, prone to grandstanding with an over-reliance on exposition, but it comes alive whenever the charismatic Domingo is on screen.

As portrayed in the film, Rustin is a powerhouse, a man predisposed to challenging authority, to giving voice to hard truths, to never backing down. Domingo inhabits him, embracing the strength to never apologize for who he is or his quest for justice and equality. “On the day I was born Black, I was also born homosexual. They either believe in justice and freedom for all, or they do not,” he rails against his detractors. It’s a muscular, timely performance that makes up for the film’s other shortcomings.

By times, “Rustin” feels rushed. Several scenes end prematurely and without explanation, giving the film an odd rhythm. But, the final moments as the march comes to life, are moving, empowering and pack an emotional punch, as does the portrait of a behind the scenes trailblazer and hero.

TILL DEATH: 3 ½ STARS. “worth a look for fans of survival horror.”

“Till Death,” the new thriller from Megan Fox, now on VOD, sees an unhappily married woman wake up one morning, handcuffed to her soon-to-be-dead husband Mark (Eoin Macken). Like an unholy mix of “Sleeping with the Enemy,” “Weekend at Bernie’s” and “Saw,” it’s a study in the toll emotional abuse takes, and the resilience required to rise above it.

Before the handcuffs and the literal interpretation of the “Till death do us part,” wedding vow, Emma (Fox) feels trapped by a loveless marriage. But as her eleventh wedding anniversary looms, she calls off the relationship she’s been having behind her lawyer husband’s back with his associate Tom (Aml Ameen) and accepts Mark’s invitation for a weekend away to work on their relationship. “Things have been bad between us,” he says, “and I’m sorry.”

At first the weekend seems to be heading toward healing the scars that mar their marriage. But things take a dark twist when Emma wakes up, hungover and handcuffed to Mark as he then shoots himself in the head. Connected to his corpse, Emma finds herself a pawn in a dangerous game of survival. “I have been chained to this nightmare all day!”

“Till Death,” just one of the five films Fox has scheduled for release in the 2021/22 season, begins like a hundred other thrillers. A bad marriage, a vague sense of unease and a remote location. And so what if Fox appears to be on autopilot in the film’s opening minutes? There’s a hint of some neo-noir action in the air.

It takes about twenty-five minutes, but by the time Mark blows his head off, filling the air with a bloody mist, the movie finally distinguishes itself as the nasty piece of work it is. It also gives Fox the opportunity to branch out from disinterested to engaged as director S.K. Dale allows her to shed the story’s dead weight (literally) and shine. She hands in a fun performance that is more subtle than the movie’s main metaphor of a late, toxic husband as a literal anchor or ball-and-chain.

“Till Death” is a simple movie of survival. When two abusers (Callan Mulvey and Jack Roth) from Emma’s past arrive as part of Mark’s master scheme to terrorize her, she must muster all the courage she has from years of pent-up frustration to stay alive. There aren’t many twists and turns you won’t see coming, but slick direction, a tense score, a self-depreciating tone and Fox’s study in resilience should earn the movie a look from fans of survival horror.