ANTHONY MACKIE AND KERRY WASHINGTON IN NIGHT CATCHES USRevisiting black radicalism and its residuePhiladelphia, 1976. At the death of his father, Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns to his Philly neighborhood after a mysterious absence. Some years ago he's believed to have pointed out to cops that the husband of Patricia (Kerry Washington) killed a cop, which got the man killed, and the neighborhood writes "SNITCH" in big white letters on the beautiful black Caddy he inherits. The house is to be sold, and Marcus' hostile Muslim brother Bostic (Tarique Trotter) kicks him out, but Marcus stays a while with Patricia and gets to know her inquisitive daughter Iris (Jamara Griffin). From Iris' probing we learn her father was a Black Panther. So perhaps were Patty (as Marcus still calls her) and Marcus.
Iris gets hold of some Black Panther comic books preaching hatred and murder of "pigs" (cops). Marcus tells her these were propaganda created by the Feds. Meanwhile Iris works with Patricia's cousin Jimmy (Amari Cheatom) collecting cans for money. Jimmy turns against the white man who buys the cans off him, feeling he's being cheated; he's hostile toward police, always getting arrested, and drawn to the now dormant Black Panther mystique.
The neighborhood is controlled by DoRight (Jamie Hector) and his gang. Marcus is called upon to frame him. Jimmy gets in bigger trouble. The old flame between Marcus and Patricia is ignited.
These are some of the threads of this interesting first feature by Tanya Hamilton, which was fostered at Sundance. The acting credentials of Mackie (who plays a lead role in Oscar winner
The Hurt Locker), Kerry Washington, Jamie Hector, and Amari Cheatom are fantastic, and Jamara Griffin is strong as the precocious pre-teen Iris.
Night Catches Us rambles at first, then shifts from contemplative to confrontational as the action heats up. Maybe the various strains never jell. The subject matter is complex: just as Marcus is contemplating his radical past, the film looks back on the Sixties and Seventies from the point of view of African Americans. Jimmy Carter is running for President, and in a speech is heard saying the Panthers are the greatest danger the country faces.
Variety's John Anderson is right:
Night Catches Us' message is staticky and its structure is wobbly. It's not clear how the film wants us to take Jimmy, whether as the new generation of focused anger, or a foolish, out-of-date wannabe revolutionary. Nonetheless the Seventies feel is strong, the images are nice, the acting is fine, and the material is thought-provoking and fresh. Archival footage of the Black Panthers, period soul and music by the group The Roots adds to the atmosphere.
Night Cathes Us premiered in January 2010 at Sundance, and was included in the New Directors/New Filmsseries shown at the Walter Reade Theater and MoMA in late March.
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