So I saw "LUV," and all I can say is STELLAR. Actor/artist Common's performance is nothing less than raw and riveting. Michael Rainey, Jr. is fantastic! I will not be surprised to see this young man at the Academy Awards accepting his Oscar in the future. What a wonderful cast of Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Lonette McKee, Meagan Good, Charles Dutton, and even the character of "Lil' Baby" served his role, too.
Director Sheldon Candis put his heart and soul into this story. Yes it may deal with the stereotypes associated with Black cinema such as prison, drugs, murder, etc. HOWEVER, the way Candis was able to include the subjects, but maneuver into a totally different angle was phenomenal. He showed the relationship between "Uncle Vincent" (Common) and "Wood" by (Michael Rainey, Jr.) through manhood. Uncle Vincent gave Wood a different education from how to walk like a confident man to being dressed in a business suit to present one's self in a professional manner. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the bank scene. I will not reveal too much, but I love how Uncle Vincent told Wood to "sit up straight" and "get your feet right." Usually we hear those correction antics from Big Mama or Granny, but it's very rare to feature an uncle being a disciplinarian.
Now please don't get it twisted, Uncle Vincent was not a saint. In some scenes I disliked his character, but I understood it. The ending of the movie was totally not how I thought it would end, in which I would say is a great story. Keep the audience attention with the twists and turns of the story.
If you haven't seen LUV, I highly recommend you do. Support independent film. There is a dynamic surge of amazing directors alongside Sheldon Candis such as Ava Duvernay, Pete Chatmon, Matthew Cherry, Talibah Newman who are creating their own green light.
In the words of Kanye West: "Flashing lights....lights..."
No comments:
Post a Comment