Disappearing Acts

I was a bit skeptical when seeing the previews for this movie, but it was well worth the two hours it took to watch it! Instead of the cheesy, one-sided, pro-independent-Black-woman, anti-Black-male film that I thought it was, "Disappearing Acts" was a refreshing, well-made movie that both men and women (and not necessarily just African-American) can feel. This is because the movie 1) was actually believable, 2) related to a lot of true events in this day and age that aren't really exposed much without being sensationalized, and 3) had two strong leads in Sanaa Lathan (Zora) and Wesley Snipes (Franklin)...

I think that the supporting cast could have been a bit more utilized (more so with Zora and Franklin's respective families and parents), but that is overshadowed by a powerful, emotion-stirring performance by Sanaa and Wesley. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a true-to-life, devoid-of-unneeded-drama-elements movie that you can really feel.

If this movie is half as good as the book (which everyone is telling me it is), then I shall be off to Waldenbooks for a sneak peek.

The story of two mismatched star-crossed lovers that try to make it all work until... Real love, Real life a sub theme of the movie tells the story. As has been showing up in the movies lately a great trend of showing the realities of middle class African Americans without the violence or gang nature of past films. The movie was a very good depiction of the bestseller novel of the same name written by Terry McMillian. As in her other movie depictions the sub-characters are 1-dimensional but the main characters are fully 3-dimensional. Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan captured fully the spirit of Franklin Swift and Zora Banks of the book. They each turned them into visual believable characters that we had praise and sympathy for.

Thanks to HBO and Wesley's Amen Ra Productions we now have another African American love story. Love Jones lead the way and it took almost 3 years for Love and Basketball to follow. We want more!!!!

Sanaa Lathan continues to delight her fans by creating characters that are so real and approachable. She knows how to woo you in. The girl has skills, acting skills that is. This was a good vehicle for her sophomore leading role. Her commanding control of subtle use of facial expressions, sighs and body language are perfect for a part that calls for conveyance of thoughts without language. Again as in Love and basketball Sanaa goes beyond the basic 9-5 operation of the job, she put on 20 lbs for the role. (And still looked fabulous) This truly shows her dedication to her craft and desire to give her best. She again teams with director Gina Prince-Bythewood. I am officially classifying them as the "Dynamic Duo for the African American Woman in Film." Keep up the excellent work ladies, looking forward to your next project.

Wesley Snipes gave us another side of himself as well. I found more passion and venerability in this character than his Jungle Fever or Mo Better romantic characters. Clearly his line: `The love was always real Z. It still is so there is no bad timing' was the best line of the movie. It gave us hope for a new and improved relationship for Franklin and Zora.

This was a well-made movie for those who want to see how a relationship is formed & broken.Wesley Snipes plays a struggling construction worker who one day wants to be a contractor falls for a music school teacher played by Sanaa Lathan who wants to be a singer.The two quickly fall for each other.But as the months go by,things fall apart as they both struggle to maintain their personal goals.Snipes shows in this picture that he can be very charming.It was good to see a softer side of his acting ability instead of the usual action-adventure he always plays.Lathan was very convincing in her part & I hope this movie will put her career up.A must see.

At last, Wesley snipes starts to fulfil the promise he showed us in The Waterdance. It seems like he stopped acting for a while to become an action star, and here he proudly reclaims his ground as one of the finest actors on screen today. Sanaa Lathan is great as well, in a lovely small story of a relationship. That's all it is, and yet it holds and moves. The supporting actors are all great too- I particularly liked Regina Hall. The music is terrific- did she sing it herself? and the direction and script are all top-notch. Well done!

Finally this movie has arrived in the United Kingdom after much good reviews from the United States.

Snipes and Lathan give great performances. Director Bythewood certainly keeps the movie at the right pace, hard to believe this is her second picture after "Love and Basketball" We should all expect great things from her in the future. I enjoyed this having read the book by Terry Macmillan. Beautifully shot and acted, could have done with deeper roles for John Amos and CCH Pounder but above all a good picture. 8/10