Strange as Angels

When I First purchased this movie I was just thrilled to be seeing Mr. Christian Payton on the silver screen again. As I viewed the movie the first time I was just watching every move Christian Payton made because Iam so hypnotized by him. But after viewing the movie the second time I took the time to get off into the movie itself. I found the movie to be a slow, easy movie without a lot of energy. The movie was not that bad of a movie. It was basically about a young lady that had gone through a lot of bad relationships and when she meet Rodney she had just come out of a bad relationship. And I have walked Marilyns shoes before, sometimes good sex will help you forget. And thats what she and Rodney had just good sex. Rodney said in the movie himself that the relationship probably would have worked if only they had worked at it. But Marilyn being hurt to many times did not even want to give it a chance. I think the story hit home for some ladies out there like my self. I thought the plot was real and I would say the same even if Mr. Payton was not in the film. Check the film out and judge for yourself.

This was more than guy meets girl, guy has sex with girl, the end. This was a movie about symbolism in it's rawest form. If he hadn't messed around on her would things have been different? Had she ever really considered staying in the first place or was it an act on her part from the very beginning? It was a good thinking movie and I love the way the title was explained. The female lead was written well and acted out O.K. but lacked emotion at times, real response. The male lead was very well received by myself, in other words it was realistic. I feel the best performance in the movie was given by the male best friend- I was feeling him the whole movie, congrats Inny~

I love Christian Payton but if his career was riding on this movie then his career would be over. The acting was bad, The storyline was stupid, and the actors were dull. Marilyn (Marie-Francoise Theodore) got on my nerves all through the movie crying about one man after the other. she just couldn't function without a man. They should change the name of the movie to "I Need A Man" because that's what the movie is all about. She couldn't even be happy for her mother for finding a man and getting married because she felt that she deserve it more then her mother. Everyone in this movie was unlucky in love except Mimi Ayers, who played Marilyn's mother. This movie didn't live up to it's premise. Marilyn and Rodney didn't have a intense romance, they had sex. Marilyn didn't fear that succumbing to her desires would wrench her individuality. Her fears was not getting a man, and this was keeping her from being a independent individual.

I think that the two people who have commented on the film so far completely miss the point of the movie. Films cannot be everything to everyone and it is necessary to have dissenting voices in order to start a discussion so at least they have accomplished that.

I thought that the movie was good. It offered a different perspective on black film-making and didn't follow the typical pattern of most romantic comedies with an all black cast. It was almost like a foreign film because sometimes it was "slow" but that gave you a chance to really observe and get into the characters. This film is nothing like "Waiting to Exhale" or "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" which, to me, were trite and don't reflect life as it is really lived.

As far as the acting, it is good. To me, the characters were like people that I really know even though the dialogue can be a bit philosophical, which to me is OK because black folks are usually just dancing, going to church or joking around in movies. The lead female character gives people a chance to see another side of black women, which is cool with me.

There are FAR more graphic love scenes on television and in other movies so it was refreshing to see black sexuality on screen in such a straightforward way.

Overall, even though the film has flaws, I enjoyed it and think that others will too.