This is one tough drama, and the gritty performance from Teyana Taylor is multi-layered and palpable. Writer/Director A.V. Rockwell gives Taylor plenty to work with and she runs with it. Taylor is known as a singer, dancer, choreographer, and actress who was born in Harlem. She has collaborated with everyone from Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu. Missy Elliot, Usher and Chris Brown. Here she plays a Mom and it’s interesting that this film was shot just after delivering her 2nd child.
Set in Harlem in the 1990’s, Inez (Taylor) is a down and out woman just released from Riker’s Island prison in New York City. She sees a young boy on the street she knows right away and he knows her too. It’s obvious she has strong feelings for this little 6-year-old named Terry and is disturbed to find out he doesn’t seem to be happy in his latest foster home. Even though she’s just out of prison, she is fearless, taking desperate measures to keep this boy under her watch. She was a hairdresser before going to jail. The the salon won’t take her back, but she will do anything to keep her son safe and food on the table.
Inez is angry, and so rough around the edges, we didn’t like her at first, but her feelings are so strong for Terry, and for her boyfriend, Lucky, (William Catlett), we begin to see not only some softness, but her vulnerability. Taylor shows incredible range going through the gamut of strong emotions.
Little by little they become a family, even though she has a trigger temper and is constantly wary of who’s going to try to take advantage of her or their situation. The film takes you through the changes in New York City over 20 years showing how Blacks got moved around and pushed out because of gentrification. Rockwell exposes all the faults the city has to offer economically, mentally and physically when Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg were in power. Besides the changing neighborhoods, the city’s rules and systems kept changing or not adapting enough. People couldn’t always stay and live where they wanted, get a good education in their own neighborhood, or keep from getting in trouble every other day.
The three young boys who play Terry over the course of the film are well cast young actors, showing their changing personalities at different stages. Aaron Kingsley Adetola playing 6-year-old Terry is so young, quiet, and innocent. Aven Courtney is the wary teen Terry who is feeling his way, trying to stay away from Mom’s wrath when things go wrong. And Josiah Cross playing Terry at 17 is reluctantly coming into his own. There are twists that throw Inez for a loop revealing how hard and unfair life can be living in such a complex, complicated and often impersonal New York City. Have things changed? Not enough.
The relationship she has with Terry over the years evolves with the times in Harlem. Her foul mouth and trigger temper makes them all jump, and so did we. She can go from smiling and strikingly beautiful to strident and frightening in a second. Taylor has already made a name for herself in music, but by Rockwell giving her this difficult, multi-layered role showcasing her talent and versatility, Teyana Taylor is not one in a thousand, she’s one in a million.
Focus Features 1 hour 57 minutes R
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