Emergency

This is an unusual find. I am not even sure what genre the film is in. However, I am sure it is very good and interesting. This film takes a college party night and examines an "emergency" and how it intertwines class, social, and racial issues as well as coming of age issues. The dialogue is smart. The young cast is relatively unknown but they are solid and interesting. The Direction and cinematography are strong. This is very watchable and I found the way this unfolded to be very admirable.

This is an Amazon Original, I watched it streaming on Prime.

I found this movie a bit hard getting into, some of the characters seem unsavory and love to use filthy language. But I stuck with it, the first part featuring college fraternity parties serves to set the stage for the meat of the movie, filmed mostly in the neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia.

When two black men, both good college students and roommates, sharing a home with a "brown" Hispanic male, come home they are shocked to find a pretty and petite white blonde girl passed out on their floor from too much partying. They all know the "right thing" to do, call 9-1-1 and get proper help. But their fear of the situation, cops finding a cute white girl passed out in their home, cause them to do something else. Plus, we soon find out, the girl is a 17-yr-old high school student.

In all I found it an interesting viewing, to see in a fictional setting what fear of police might get men of color to do, just to keep from getting shot and killed. That is a real problem in some areas. The director is a black man which lends credibility to the exercise, however I was disappointed that the writer is a non-black female.

To the review titled "so basically nothing happens" I say, watch the movie and pay attention, lots of things happen.

At its core, Emergency has an incredibly interesting and important story to tell. However, it fails to deliver a truly engrossing or cinematic experience. Scenes run long and there is a stark lack of music throughout most of the film. It results in a viewing experience that feels like "I'm just watching things happen" rather than watching a specific, artistic creation.

Still, I think there is a strong base to the movie's story, the actors' chemistry, and the characters' relationships. I simply wish there was more personality to the filming. A movie like this would have been much more engaging with a Jordan Peele-like take, honing in on the horror or suspense of the situation. Or perhaps, a stronger lean into the comedy. The actual result is a movie that fails to be very funny when it means to be, and also fails to deliver much suspense when needed.

'Emergency' is one of those films where if a single character did the common sense thing the movie would end immediately - or in this case never even begin. It is very frustrating. Every single step along the way is based on a ridiculous decision being made that does nothing other than to service the run time reaching a minimum length.

Putting that aside the film isn't bad. But it does struggle to pick a genre. At first it seems like it is going for the 'Superbad' style of comedy. It kind of gives up on that after the early scenes though and there is barely a laugh found (or attempted) the rest of the way. I think it would've worked better as a comedy. So many of the characters are over-the-top and too unrealistic for any drama to feel natural.

It does remain watchable though and the message it goes for at the end is a decent one. It's not one I'd be going out of my way to recommend however. 6/10.

2 black students are planning a last bash by touring all the clubs. Visiting their Latino friend's house they find a white, high school girl unconscious on the floor. Given the potential reaction if they do, they debate whether to call 911.

Excellent performances by the 2 leads and a wonderfully witty script make for one of the better comedies of the year. Whilst the first 2 thirds is often hilarious - a couple come out of a their house with a 'black lives matter' sign on their lawn and immediately accuse them of drug dealing - the film slowly becomes more serious as their arguing intensifies, as does the fear of the police / fear for the girl. Ultimately it is a well crafted, but funny indictment of a divided America where racism is seemingly still pretty endemic.