Nia DaCosta is a black, female filmmaker from New York City making her feature debut. She proves on her first outing to be a writer-director with extreme promise and this film proves those who care about cinema should keep an eye on her or out for her. Her narrative is very topical and relevant. It speaks to the trying times for those in the depressed Midwest or depressed Northwest. It speaks to the opioid epidemic that has now been identified in this country. It speaks to the problems in the healthcare system and with health insurance. It also speaks to the issue of abortion. These issues aren't just brought up as talking points. They're instead reflected through the genuine and authentic experiences that DaCosta depicts here. It all feels natural and fluid or just inherent in what occurs. It doesn't come across as a lesson or a political debate. DaCosta isn't even trying to shove anything down anyone's throat. She's just painting a very insightful portrait that shows why these issues are issues in a very humanistic way.
Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok and Creed) stars as Ollie, a young black woman living in North Dakota. Similar to the opening of Alexandre Moratto's Socrates, Ollie's mother has died. Ollie was living with her mother but finances have apparently gone down. She was behind in the rent or mortgage. Ollie has to pay what's owed or she will be evicted. What complicates things is that Ollie is on probation. She was in trouble with the law, possibly having been in prison for drug offenses. This has hurt her in getting work. She covers some expenses by selling coffee and other refreshments from the back of her pickup truck to blue-collar workers. She's hopeful though that she can get a legitimate job, one maybe in Spokane.
Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Cinderella) co-stars as Debra, the sister of Ollie. Debra is a young white woman. It's obvious that Ollie is her adopted sister. Their relationship is just as strong as if they were related by blood. She's in just as much dire, financial straits. She's a single mother to a 5 or 6-year-old boy. She doesn't have a great job, such that she can only afford to live in a van that's in a parking lot with various other vans and trailers of homeless people. She's ever more burdened when she realizes she's pregnant again but knows that she can't or won't be able to take care of it. She knows that she's going to be thrust even further into poverty as a result.
James Badge Dale (Only the Brave and 13 Hours) plays Ian, the ex-boyfriend of Debra, as well as the father of her child. He's also the father of her pending child. One of the reasons why Debra isn't with him is his apparent drinking problem. He might also have other substance abuse problems. He certainly was involved in drug trafficking. While he could be dismissed as the bad boyfriend, Dale imbues him with such menace but at the same time sympathy that we understand why Debra would gravitate toward him.
When Ollie and Debra's financial troubles dovetail, Ollie considers going to Ian and going back to drug dealing. This film is essentially Breaking Bad, but, instead of a middle-age, white man in New Mexico, it's a Millennial black woman in North Dakota. It doesn't build or go to some over-the-top place as that series did. It gives a simple scenario that's more likely to occur.
In films, however, the trajectory of Breaking Bad isn't something totally new when told through the perspective of a woman. especially a single woman. We've seen recently in independent cinema with films like Where Is Kyra? (2018) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). Those films though are centered in urban areas like New York City. It's really refreshing to see a reflection of the frustration and the struggle of women and women of color in these rural areas.
Rated R for language and drug material. Running Time: 1 hr. and 51 mins.
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