Alma's Rainbow

One not-so-little sister went to Paris to be in show business, and one stayed home in Brooklyn to run her own hair salon and raise her daughter. Now her sister from Paris is back in Brooklyn, her daughter is becoming a woman, and life has gotten very confusing.

Ayoka Chenzira's movie about how life will go on, no matter how hard you try to stop it is a mixed bag. It meets all the technical issues of a good movie, and the story is a good one. The main problem for me is Mizan Kirby as the wandering sister; I suppose she should be played a bit larger than life in the opening scenes, but it keeps up too long and is phony; she enunciates her French far too carefully, like she is in a class room, after ten years in Paris; and she does the same for the sequences in which she is in a slap-up argument with her sister, Kim Weston-Moran.

Even so, I found the movie well worth watching. There's some life in daughter Victoria Gabrielle Platt as she tries to come to terms with her adult body, despite the old ladies who brew tisanes for her, her mother's stoic advice, and her aunt's challenges. Also the secondary characters like Lee Dobson who tries to put some life into Miss Weston, and Jennifer Copeland as the salon's assistant is a warily watchful presence.

Alma Gold runs a neighbourhood beauty parlor from her home, and concentrates on chivvying along her staff and her teenage daughter Rainbow. Alma is a little serious, maybe even a stickler. Enter Alma's sister Ruby, a minor yet glorious celebrity who made her name playing Josephine Baker in a biographical play, but is struggling to find the work she needs to fund her extravagant lifestyle. Mizan Kirby has an absolute ball as the wild and high maintenance Ruby who quickly puts stars in the eyes of her niece, and attempts to shake up Alma's life. They settle into being a quirky and squabbling family unit.

What is very nice is that the movie a gentle one where conflict levels never rise to a level that might cause unease to the viewer. The set is mostly Alma's house, which is covered in dark wood panelling, plants, sumptuous and exotic paintings that pull you in, feather boas, and antiques, it's a decadent haven. It's a movie that focusses on the life of three Black women (ok one of them is a teenager who thinks she is a woman), their hopes, dreams, and worries, and we see how the women talk when they're with other women and that's pretty rare for the cinema. The big music, big dancing and big laughs will stay with me (Rainbow's lusty dreams were the funniest). It was a great benefit to see it on the big screen, so I could almost feel like I was sat in Alma's house.

Alma's Rainbow is a rich, multi-layered film about Black American life that is all too rare.

Unlike many films about African-Americans, the characters of Alma's Rainbow are fully-developed and center around Rainbow and her transformation into womanhood. She is straying from the straight and narrow path that her pragmatic mother, Alma, would have her follow when along comes her Aunt Ruby, a stylish lounge singer with more ambition than talent. In Rainbow's inexperienced eyes, Ruby has reached the plateau of success that Rainbow dreams of. The film focuses on the conflict that ensues between sisters Alma and Ruby and Rainbow's decisions about her future.

Before Rainbow was born, Alma's and Ruby's were a singing duo named The Flamingo Sisters. Alma career was cut short by the arrival of Rainbow, so she opens a day spa named the Flamingo Parlor while Ruby goes off to Paris to perform Josephine Baker impersonations. After they part ways, Ruby becomes even more decadent and free-spirited while Alma becomes more conservative. The story does not mention Rainbow's father, but it hints that Alma is reluctant to engage in a new relationship because of a painful past experience.

The acting is all around well done. The characters are all buoyant and funny. At first glance, Victoria Gabriella Platt seems a bit old for the part of Rainbow. She is an obviously well-developed young woman, not a child on the edge of puberty. The director makes a wise decision in casting her because she reflects all of the emotions and inner turmoil that Rainbow is feeling with her expressive face and body language. I also must mention Lee Dobson's great use of his eyes as Alma's love interest. I particularly admired Kim Weston-Moran's sangfroid in her performance as Alma. She underplays the role which balances out Mizan Nunez's wild portrayal of Ruby. My only real criticism is that the film does not fully explore Ruby's characterization. Despite her obvious materialism and irresponsibility, Ruby but does not come across as shallow. I longed to discover what really motivates her and makes her tick.

The visual representation of Alma's Rainbow is very creative without being gimmicky. There are colorful, balloon-filled parties, stylish costumes and ever-changing hairstyles. The cinematography captures the unique beauty of Brooklyn with Manhattan skylines, lush green parks, and the rich woods and tall ceilings of Alma's brownstone. Throughout the film, the image of a hot pink flower represents Alma's repressed passion. There are also flashbacks to the Flamingo Sisters in their heyday that are juxtaposed to the present as silent shots in black and white. There are also shots of Rainbow's romantic fantasies of an interlude with an older soldier as she explores her awakening sexuality.

The musical elements of this film are also a treat. Hip-hop, slow jams, and a fantastic main theme of smooth strains of the alto sax are edited to compliment the visual presentation masterfully.

On every level, this movie is fantastic and fun to watch again and again.

This film is an interesting character study of an inhibited, uptight single mother, her wild sister, and her rebellious, coming-of-age daughter. It didn't earn a higher rating than 7 because some of the scenes and dialogues are cliches, but it's definitely worth a watch for its unconventional African-American middle-class setting. One of the themes is that mothers can learn as much from their daughters as vice versa.

This second feature from independent film maker Ayoka Chenzira, despite its style being a bit too redolent of a watered down "Do The Right Thing", sometimes amateurish acting, and a tendency to get silly at inappropriate times (like the aunt's graveside speech and the love making scene with Alma and her boyfriend), ultimately won me over. I found that I cared about the three main characters and their travails and I admired how writer/director Chenzira was able to make me care without resorting to undue sentimentality, to cite just the most prominent trap into which coming of age films can fall. I am glad Chenzira is still directing and I hope to see more of her work. Give it a B plus.

PS...I want to live in that Brooklyn brownstone!