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direct by Mo McRae from a screenplay he co - wrote with Sarah Kelly Kaplan , A Lot of Nothinghas a good fascinating conceitedness and it ’s willing to go to gravid lengths to insightfully delve into the various plot duds it fetch up . For a while , the motion picture is engaging , ramp up the tension by put character in situations that drive their action and emotions throughout . McRae provide a layered debut , but the picture show ca n’t maintain its momentum , spiraling in the final act as it scurries to introduce new information .
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McRae walks a tightrope in a play to search race , class , andpolice cleanup . There are a telephone number of things that work here — James and Vanessa ’s impassioned statement about what they can do when they discover Officer Brian know right next threshold , their push - pull dynamic when things escalate the next mean solar day , and the initial and ill at ease discussion between the couple , James ’ sidekick Jamal ( Shamier Anderson ) and his fiancée Candy ( Lex Scott Davis ) when they ’re over for dinner party . The latter showcases the different perspectives between the couples , peculiarly as it have-to doe with to their economical water parting and the disparate room in which Jamal and James want to handle Brian . Jamal is far more wild because of the way he ’s been treated by the police his whole life , whereas James tries not to rock the gravy holder too much because of his status and wealth , having pass a level of success he would rather not divorce himself from .
Not only are the moral force between the couples challenging , but their interactions with Brian even more so . Through their conversations , and despitethe unnecessary twistat the end , the differences between Brian , James , and Vanessa are clear . Brian seems nonchalant , unmoved by what ’s happening around him and the way Justin Hartley present him makes it well-defined he knows he hold the power irrespective of how things step up . It ’s something he lords over Vanessa and James to the point that , no matter how much they want to believe they are doing something worthwhile in the brass of societal racism , it does n’t alter things in the manner they want it to . Through the tense state of affairs , McRae crafts something intriguing , search report of tycoon , who hold it , and how angriness can so easily be used to blame and doom Vanessa and James for their actions while society absolves Brian of his .
A Lot of Nothingis greatly elevated by the performance of Y’lan Noel and Cleopatra Coleman , who give their all as James and Vanessa , severally . The actors contribute subtlety and depth to their type as they uplift each other one moment and air out their grievances in the next . The tense conversation and construction of tension is well done , butA Lot of Nothingdoesn’t deliver a satisfying enough ending despite a tremendously strong setup . The final act of the film protrude to fall apart as it introduces human relationship dramatic play , genetic issues , and a plethora of other thing that shift its focal point from the film ’s initial assumption . That does n’t do the film any favor as it careens toward its oddment with a lot less gusto it starts with .
The opening scene is particularly fantastic , one uninterrupted crack of the duet reacting to the news of the police shooting , with the tv camera following them throughout different country of their home while they sort through a range of emotions . Unfortunately , the film , despite its in effect efforts , never regains its footing after that , the flame reasonably diminishing thereafter as it tries to take on too many issues at once . The overall momentum stalls and preventsA Lot of Nothingfrom wedge its landing , but it ’s a bright launching from McRae , who has a solid clasp with regards to maintaining much of the film ’s tenseness through dialogue alone .
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A Lot of Nothinghad its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival on March 13 , 2022 . The film is 104 minutes long and is not yet rated .
