The first film had a kind of voodoo mood, while the second employed "magic realism." This new one lives through the spirit of radio. This time, however, Lemmons' film may stir up some enthusiasm over its amazing performances.
(Lemmons was an actress herself in small roles in The Silence of the Lambs and among other films, before turning director.) In many Hollywood films, a "crazy" character meets an "uptight" character and they wind up benefiting one another, but those films rarely break away from caricature. Here, both Petey and Dewey come from real places.
When Petey does something outrageous, it comes from his character, rather than a need to make the audience laugh. When Dewey does something uptight, it makes sense; he truly does not understand how his behavior looks on the outside. (In one scene, he confesses that he has based his entire professional life on Johnny Carson.
) Even Taraji P. Henson, who gets the "girlfriend" role here, finds moments of grace within her character's rather predictable arc (and her great wigs, ranging from "Foxy Brown" to Beyonce-like). Lemmons' tour-de-force moment comes in the movie's centerpiece: the 1968 death of Dr.
Witnessing the angry rioting in the streets, Petey climbs into his booth and begins the long process of talking the city down, sharing in their pain and trying to re-establish the ideas that King fought for. Done a thousand times before, it's a sequence that could have gone south quickly, but Lemmons saves it with her confident, almost dreamlike rhythms and Cheadle's superior performance. The sequence finishes off with Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," which has already been established as an important song to both Petey and Dewey.
Like magic, the song floats through the air, bringing understanding and hope to everyone who listens. It has been made special through radio, and now it gets a new layer, being married to Lemmons' images. It will never sound the same again.
chiwetel ejiofor, cinematical, don cheadle, film, kasi lemmons, movie, talk to me The first film had a kind of voodoo mood, while the second employed "magic realism." This new one lives through the spirit of radio.
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