The Last Black Man In San Francisco Tackles Both Urgent And Heady Themes In An Emotionally Powerful And Sincere Fashion

      One of the greatest aspects of filmmaking is not only entertaining the audience with a solid story, but giving them one that's profound and speaks volumes to them on a personal level. Some films also manage to serve as being mirrors or reflections of the world we live in while bringing current issues to life in a way that's understandable to the audience. In the case of The Last Black Man In San Francisco, the film tackles a relevant subject in the Bay Area that deals with the issue of gentrification involving African-Americans with many finding themselves being pushed out of living in the city due to the spike in rent and mortgage. The Last Black Man In San Francisco explores this reality with a story that not only feels both relatable as well as personal for the audience, but is also one that's emotionally absorbing, eye-opening, and genuinely well-told with the amount of sincerity behind its filmmaking. Powerful, moving, and affecting, The Last Black Man In San Francisco is one of 2019's most understated films.

      The plot for The Last Black Man In San Francisco centers around a young man desperate to hang onto his grandfather's Victorian home in a progressive city that appears to be moving forward without him. One of the main aspects of the film that makes it a moving experience for its audience is how close to home it feels for them, particularly at a time where the cost of living in a city such as San Francisco is at an all time high. For many African-Americans as well as people of color, they find themselves not being able to afford it and feel as if they're essentially being pushed out of the city in exchange for wealthier people. The Last Black Man in San Francisco explores that reality in a fashion that's tastefully done, hard-hitting, and noble with its intentions. The film is brilliantly well-acted, impressively written and directed with a message that hits at the heart of its audience with the film saying that there's hope in the face of gentrification, as well as the threat of being erased from a neighborhood that's progressively changed over the course of several decades regarding the issue of blacks finding themselves being pushed out of the city. The film most effectively serves as a reflection of a past time in a particular neighborhood in San Francisco, as well as showing the reality of what it is now. The most powerful aspect of the film that makes it work as well as it does is the amount of heart that both its filmmakers and actors display on the screen. The film is not just a story about loss but also one about friendship and what ultimately matters most, which in this case is shown to be ones family, friends, and legacy. At a time where the films themes and topics feel more relevant now than ever, The Last Black Man In San Francisco provides audiences with an awareness of the world it shows but also gives them a reminder that losing their home or neighborhood doesn't change who they are or where they come from as friendships and family ties are both lasting and permanent. For a film that received so little attention during the 2019 award season, it has much to say regarding current issues that African-Americans face and rightly fight against.

      One of the key elements that makes the film as effective as it ultimately turns out to be are the strong acting performances from its main leads as they bring enormous amounts of chemistry, heart, and emotion to the story. Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors both thrive and succeed as the films main characters Jimmie Fails and Montgomery​ Allen. Both actors manage to convey the appropriate amounts of emotion for their roles while making their characters likable, as well as being relatable and sympathetic. Out of the two performances, Fails delivers the stronger performance as himself essentially, a young man desperately trying to hold onto his families house. Fails both convincingly and poetically plays his character as someone who really cherishes his grandfather's house and loves it more than his own dysfunctional family, who are shown to not always be there for him. The audience feels the genuine sincerity behind his character, as well as his understanding of the current situation and desperation to hold onto an essential piece of his families legacy. Jonathan Majors does great work as Jimmie's loyal friend and playwright Montgomery. Majors performance like Fails is both thoughtful and emotionally charged, particularly in the scenes where he see's the emotion his friend displays with the slow realization that he's losing his grandfather's home to gentrification. He also does a solid job of conveying his characters struggles in regards to black masculinity as he's being targeted by the Chorus group with mean insults for being the oddball person in the neighborhood with a feminine touch to his personality. Both actors deliver impressive work here and help make the audience connect with their story. The rest of the supporting cast give notable performances including Danny Glover as Montgomery's blind grandfather, whom Fails stays with and watch. Glover brings a warmth and sense of heartbreak to his character with him wanting to spend time with Mont but realizes he's too busy with Jimmie. Tichina Arnold does well playing Jimmie's Aunt, Wanna Fails who gives both him and Mont (Montgomery) the furniture that was originally in Jimmie's grandfather's house. Rob Morgan is effective as Jimmie's estranged father James Sr. with the tense relationship between him and Jimmie being shown with the latter's frustration and disappointment at his fathers failure in regards to holding onto their grandfather's Victorian estate. Other strong supporting roles are Finn Wittrock as Jimmie and Mont's shady real estate agent Clayton Newsom and Jamal Trulove as Kofi, one of the street Chorus group of young men who pokes fun at Jimmie and Mont for being the oddball pair in the neighborhood, though ends up being the only one who understands the fascination the boys have for the house they're​ occupying. In regards to the films acting, the cast behind The Last Black Man In San Francisco has much to do with why the film ultimately works as well as it does. The performances as a whole are both affecting and poignant with the way their characters are written and ultimately played out. The audience gets a feeling of genuine sincerity behind the casts performances as they not only set out to bring the story to the screen, but also to make a powerful statement regarding a current situation that's largely affecting African-Americans in the Bay Area along with delivering a message regarding hope. The performances are key here along with the passion behind the filmmakers desire to tell this story, and make it as relatable as possible for the audience to understand.

      The films directing by Joe Talbot in his feature film debut, proves to be a solid effort as he gives the film an art-house feel to it while allowing the actors complete freedom to play their roles. He gives the film both a surrealistic and dream-like mood in which the emotions of both the characters, as well as the story are enhanced with the films overall look and feel making for an almost life-changing experience for the audience. Through Talbot's directing and strong visual work, he gives audiences the believability and feeling that they're in the neighborhood​ with these characters with his more personal approach. The cinematography is not only radiant and masterfully done, but proves to be most effective in enhancing the colors of the films settings, particularly the exterior shots of an often sunny San Francisco with the lighting being used to shine on the main characters, deliberately making them stand apart from the rest of the characters in the story. Each scene and shot whether its the main characters, the neighborhood, or the house itself looks as if it can be framed as a portrait hanging on a wall. The cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra, plays an integral part in getting the audience to see what it is that Jimmie loves about both his neighborhood and home, that makes him desperate to hold onto his place of residence there. The visual flare that both the director and cinematographer generate, works in terms of conveying those emotions to the audience. The friendship between Jimmie and Mont is also shown to be a strong and powerful bond as the filmmakers film as many shots with them in the same frame together as possible. Through the films camera work, Talbot captures the beauty of both San Francisco, as well as the home that Jimmie and Mont both occupy. The Victorian home that Jimmie occupies with Mont experiences a before and after look to it that reinforces both the affection and labor or love that the main characters have for restoring it back to its original state. The films pacing is slow-moving but also intended to be absorbing for the audience as both the dynamic between Jimmie and Mont's friendship is explored along with Jimmie's journey towards reclaiming his grandfather's house, as well as his efforts to maintain it. On a visual level, the films look and style are effective in regards to showing the innocence and beauty behind the story of a pair of friends trying to reclaim the others home in an environment that's constantly changing around them. The films set locations and neighborhood are well-chosen as they help to convey the feelings of nostalgia that Jimmie's character experiences in regards to revisiting his old house prior to moving back in along with showing the underlining beauty of SF. In that regard, Talbot impresses as a filmmaker along with how much he's able to make the audience connect with the main characters, while giving the film a striking look through the films stunning cinematography along with giving the characters a prideful presence.

      The films screenwriting also by Joe Talbot along with Rob Richert and a story by Jimmie Fails (Whose life the films story is loosely based upon), is smartly written and profound with many of its themes addressed in the film along with a natural progression of the character arcs of both Jimmie and Mont. Although the main theme revolves around gentrification, the story is also about friendship, family, holding onto ones own piece of family legacy while remembering who one is and where they come from. The film is about one young man's fear and desperation of losing his family home while doing everything he can to hold onto it, even if his methods are questionable to others (Randomly moving into the house and introducing himself to the neighbor, who immediately suspects something is off given how quickly Jimmie moved into his grandfather's house after the previous owner left in addition to him looking like he can't afford the mortgage).
Displacement and identity are two key themes that dominate the story as Jimmie's grandfather's house represents Jimmie's family tree, along with a reminder of who he is with the displacement part of the story being the house being taken out of his possession through a legal form of robbery in an area that affects a massive number of blacks disproportionately. The concept of friendship is emphasized through the bond between Jimmie and Mont with the film hardening their friendship through showing how they stick together through hard times with Mont's character proving his loyalty to Jimmie. The script also contains moments and subplots that show how different their characters are from the rest of the neighborhood with the duo being constantly picked on by the Chorus group of young street kids, knocking on them for being different. Mont's character also experiences criticism directed at his masculinity in the film with specific members of the Chorus group criticizing his offbeat persona by citing he's too feminine for being a black man. The friendship between Jimmie and Mont serves as being the heart of the film with the strength and love their characters have for each other, giving the audience a sense of hope while watching the film that the end of the story will be somewhat uplifting. The films ultimate message is a heartbreaking and powerful one with it saying that losing ones home doesn't change who a person is or where they come from. For director Joe Talbot and actor/co-writer Jimmie Fails, the film serves as being both a mirror and reflection of their own upbringings as they witness the neighborhood they once grew up in change over the course of decades due to politics. The story works as well as it does and is ultimately moving because both the characters, as well as the films scenario feels real to the audience with it feeling timely and urgent despite the film being a brilliant work of art. The films greatest trait that's​ emphasized through it's writing, is the sincerity behind telling the story as the filmmakers know what they want to show and go about doing so with both confidence and respect for the audience they aim the film towards. The story was written and handled as a collaborative effort and it shows through the devotion that the cast and crew have towards showcasing a more intimate portrait of the beauty regarding Fail's neighborhood in San Francisco.

      With all the strengths the film possesses, it's also not devoid of it's own share of faults with most being minor ones stemming from the films script. The movie gives minimal development to Jimmie's family, particularly his father and aunt who often feel as if they're just present to serve Jimmie's arc without them being thoroughly developed. The script also has moments where the audience hears about the shooting of one of the films side characters (Kofi) without the audience seeing what happened to them or why that subplots even included. There's also moments where gunshots are heard in the films background by the main characters with no implication as to where they came from or why they're there. One finds themselves asking what was the purpose of utilizing these elements if the filmmakers were never intending to explore them. Was it a police shooting? Was the side character gunned down by a gang or shot by police? The audience is never informed nor shown what happened or what those gun shots are meant to signify. The film often at times feels as if it wishes to explore all of the main conflicts and issues that African-Americans face within its story despite the film already juggling multiple character arcs and narratives that fit the overall meaning of the story much better. While the film carries faults that are minor, its steady hand in regards to the films directing as well as its noble attempts to bring a serious issue to light that plagues the black community, as well as delivering a powerful message of hope that says the loss of ones possession doesn't mean their family history is ultimately lost works well in regards to conveying the films message to the audience. The Last Black Man In San Francisco is a film that poses some hard-hitting questions and harsh realities while presenting audiences with a powerful and reflective experience, that places them into the shoes of the main characters in regards to understanding their perspective with trying to live in a city that essentially feels like it's leaving them behind in terms of progression. For some, the harsh realities regarding the films story and underlining message may be too depressing and uncomfortable to watch. For others, the film serves as not just an awareness but also as a way to enlighten and inform others about a legit societal problem that plagues many people of color living in the Bay Area. One of the films most powerful lines that sums up the feelings that Jimmie Fail's character has towards losing his family home to gentrification is during a scene on a bus where he notices two young privileged caucasian women talking about their dislike of San Francisco. He overhears their dialogue and rejects it by saying "You don't get to hate San Francisco unless you love it." To them, they view his answer with both confusion and weirdness towards his response. For the audience, they perfectly understand Fail's meaning behind his piece of dialogue with him being angry at the current situation yet holds a sense of pride towards his neighborhood, as well as the city he calls home. It's such a subtle piece of dialogue that not only makes the end of the film an emotionally powerful one, but brings the entire film together while summing up the story as a whole. The Last Black Man In San Francisco stands as being one of 2019's most overlooked films as it serves as not just being a well-executed and put together drama, but as a testament to the power of friendship, family, loss, and identity as one may be forced out of their place of origin, but they'll never forget who they are nor where they come from. In a time where the themes and story this film represents feel urgent, its overall uplifting message about strength in fighting for what's right is more relevant now than ever.

Final Verdict: For those looking for a strong impactful drama with solid acting and storytelling, The Last Black Man In San Francisco is absolutely worth the watch as it's raw, unsettling, and powerful, especially given recent events.

The Hunt Aims To Be Both Action And Satire Yet Underwhelms As Audiences Are Left Confused By Its Intended Narrative

       Whereas most action-thrillers tend to follow a straight-forward narrative in regards to storytelling, The Hunt dares to be ambitious and provocative with both its main plot as well as its satirical style aimed at both American political parties. Originally scheduled for release in September 2019, the film was ultimately pushed back by Universal Studios due to the tragic Dayton and El Paso mass shootings in August 2019. In addition, the film also received criticism from both sides of the political aisle for its direct targeting of red-state voters as well as its depiction of individuals labeled as "liberal elites". The film was ultimately released in theaters on March 12, 2020 to heavily mixed reviews and poor box office reception (The latter largely due to the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the temporary shutting down of all U.S theaters). Having seen the film, its no mystery as to why The Hunt has received such a polarizing and divisive response from audiences as the actual film itself is a complete and utter mess. The Hunt aspires to be not just an action-thriller with horror elements incorporated into its story, it also aims to blend political satire into the proceedings in an effort to make it come across as being darkly humorous with the concept of rich Liberal elites killing off a group of "deplorables". Instead of the latter being the case, the end result is a confused and messy film which often manages to take audiences out of the story moreso​ than engaging them with its moments of intended suspense and thrills.

      The plot for The Hunt centers around twelve strangers waking up in an isolated area, that's host to a hunt with no recollection of where they are or how they got there. They soon discover that the twist behind their abduction is them being used as intended prey with them may or may not being hunted for their own political preferences. As the selected individuals are picked off one-by-one, it becomes unclear on who the good or predatory people are. The plot for The Hunt delivers much promise on paper, making its ultimate execution even more disappointing as it could've been much more than what it ultimately turns out to be. This is a film that desires to be many different forms of entertainment with its ambitions ultimately sinking it when one see's how silly and painfully awkward the messy blend of genres mix together. The timely political satire the film carries feels forced and doesn't fit within the action-packed narrative of the plot. If anything, it distracts from the overall suspense of the story and encourages the film to take unnecessary detours with both the characters and plot, that don't match up with the rest of the film. The character development presented is also bland and one-dimensional with the audience not being able to connect with anyone in the story on an emotional level. The Hunt gives off a vibe that makes it feel similar to Eli Roth's Cabin Fever and not in a complimentary way. Much like that film, The Hunt bathes in excess violence and gore for intentional shock value with the plot being designed to be taken as silly fun with political undertones to it. The biggest problem that The Hunt possesses as a film which ultimately ends up being it's undoing, is that the film isn't sure on what exactly it wants to be. It desires to have both action and satire with the two genres not blending together well at all (Which is a true shame in itself because the plot carried strong potential here).

      In addition to the unusual and confusing tone that The Hunt delivers, the performances from its main cast comes across as feeling both standard and uninspired here with the exception of its main female lead. Some of the films top billed actors have misleading appearances in the promotional ads and trailers as their time in the overall film is limited to either brief cameos, or randomly killed off for intended shock value. In the films main role, Betty Gilpin delivers a strong and likable performance as Crystal Greasey with her character intended to be the kick-ass female heroine of the story. Her character is presented as being savvy, aggressive, and brutal when required with her only objective being to survive "The Hunt". Hilary Swank gives an effective yet minimal performance as Athena Stone, the films main villainous who happens to be the leader of a group of elites who kidnap people and hunt them for sport. Both a reliable and quality actress when put on screen, Swank makes the most of her one-dimensional role with her character appearing to be a wealthy elite who despises people she see's in her eyes as being "deplorables." The rest of the cast makes the most of their roles and minimal character development with Emma Roberts giving a notable performance as one of the twelve strangers named Yoga Pants, Ikr Barinholtz as Staten Island, Wayne Duvall as Don, and Ethan Supper as Gary. As a whole, the cast to The Hunt give just about the kind of performances one would expect from an action-packed/horror style story such as this with none of the performances rising above being serviceable to decent at best. Two Supporting performances that emphasize the films desire to take direct aim at the political divide in America are the characters of Don and Gary played by Wayne Duvall and Ethan Supper. Both characters embody all the stereotypical traits of far right-leaning individuals and activists with Don's character being a representation of the typical gon-toting Republican, who allies up with Crystal and Gary being an Infowars style conspiracy theorist that represents every anti-liberal and immigrant stance there is. Despite the characters acting as generic tropes to fit the films satirical tone and message, the actors at the very least attempt to make the most of their screentime with their roles.

      The films directing by Craig Zobel is lackluster for the most part with the film having the look of a cheesy B action movie feel to it. Zobel directs the film as if the intent from the start was always to make it dark humored fun with action, thrills, and horror elements sprinkled throughout the story to give it a more suspenseful feel to it. When one thinks of the type of directing style that The Hunt has, they think of the film as being campy and poking fun at the current political climate that's so divisive. When it comes to depicting the films violence, Zobel doesn't hold back in regards to the films gore with the deaths of characters being sudden with the full intent meant to provide audiences with pure shock value, given that the story is about twelve people being hunted and preyed on. The films graphic moments doesn't shy away from elements that enhance it such as the use bloody boobytraps in the story as well as a grenade being thrown down a characters pants, and numerous messy wounds as the result of arrows, knives and bullets. Whereas the film thrives in both the action and gore department, the cinematography can be added to the list of elements about the film that feel uninspired as the grey layer of lighting doesn't do anything impressive in regards to the films overall look or mood. The editing keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, which makes it feel like an action/thriller/horror flick despite the character development being relatively messy with the plot zig zagging at numerous points to accompany its satirical tone. Besides a handful of reasonably suspenseful and thrilling sequences (The films first major shootout for example) as well as some decent hand to hand combat sequences, the directing for The Hunt doesn't prove to be anything impressive or noteworthy to write home about with Zobel's work here feeling underwhelming as a whole. It doesn't help that the script feels like a poor meshup of three genres rolled into one with Zobel adding to the uneven and confused tone that the film possesses. One can only imagine what the end result would've turned out like had Zobel had a more straight-forward narrative to work off, that focused more specifically on the action and thrills aspect of the story moreso than the dark humor.

      The screenplay by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof is where the film ultimately falls apart with its uneven meshup of action and comedy. Designed to be a satirical piece on the extreme sides of America's two major political parties, The Hunt spares no one and fires even shots at both, even going as far as designing characters that fit the stereotypes of both right and left-wing individuals. Some of the themes that are explored within The Hunt's satire are both sides inability to agree on key issues, the lack of partisanship, the acknowledging and denial of climate change, the concept of free speech along with what it deemed as such, conspiracies, and the assumptions of certain demographics of people made by other key characters (Gary for example with his hardened stance against anti-immigrants, along with questioning what's real and what isn't in the news. The films overall message within its mayhem says that being "deplorable  (A term used by 2016 Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to describe supporters of then Republican candidate/President Donald J. Trump) is a matter of perspective. The filmmakers surround this message along with the films satire around the foundation of the film being a typical survival thriller with a concept that had potential to be much more than what it ultimately is. The film starts off with a strong opening, that effectively draws the audience into the story before diving into its societal commentary, which quickly diminishes the momentum the opening sequence built up prior. The switch up doesn't work here and moves the film in a direction that does significant harm to the integrity of the story rather than build off its suspense. It would've been more effective if the filmmakers chose to stick with the survival aspect of the story and incorporated subtle moments where they poke fun at today's political climate rather than making the entire film out to be one big joke aimed at both sides, that backfires significantly in terms of the stories overall execution. The Hunt feels as if its two films with completely separate genres merged into one with both fighting for total dominance over the film as a whole. The concept of a group of wealthy elites forcing people to fight for their own survival, had potential to make for an adult-themed Hunger Games style action-thriller with the first act beginning with strong promise before that momentum faded once the film began to take a detour into forced satirical territory. The use of the films violence doesn't feel unnecessary or just shown for the sake of doing so, but fits the tone and atmosphere of the world presented in the story with its usage being effective. However, it's a shame that the writers didn't explore this aspect of the story more in-depth and abandon the satire.

    Overall, The Hunt is certainly not a film for everyone as its divisive tone will prevent it from being so with audiences.
Some will appreciate the films harmless fun at not just presenting mayhem but its firing of shots at both sides of the political spectrum, while others will feel that the two sides of the film don't mesh well together and ultimately undermine its overall quality. The Hunt is a film that had potential to be something really entertaining and creative for audiences, had more restraint been placed on the filmmakers during the writing process. One clearly see's what kind of direction the filmmakers intended to take the film with its satirical approach, but the latter just simply doesn't work here and leaves the picture as a whole feeling like an awkward experience. While neither side will take much offense to the fun being poked at them through the films narrative, both will question the need for the filmmakers to go down that route instead of focusing on developing the jaw-dropping survival aspect of the story which the films opening sequences establish so well (And therefore, should've made up the majority of the film). The biggest downfall of the film is its script as everything feels confusing and messy with the first half being the strongest part of the film with the story becoming undone by the films second act, along with completely collapsing by its third. The few elements of the film that do work are the films well-staged action sequences and Betty Gilpin making for a somewhat appealing lead with her performance. Beyond that, The Hunt is a film that can easily be avoided and skipped in a pursuit for something more satisfying that goes down the same route in regards to story without the films satirical style having such a forceful presence in the story. The Hunt can best be described as both silly and unapologetic fun with its no mercy attitude in shaming both parties for their extreme stances. For some, that may be enough to please and ultimately satisfy those looking for reasonable throwaway entertainment. For others looking for a well-structured story that remains consistent in tone, they're bound to find frustration and disappointment with the films overall presentation given the potential its premise carries. The Hunt is one of the boldest and most daring films released in 2020 thus far with the implication not being a positive one. The film works best as being one of those painfully awkward B- movies, thats only good enough for one watch out of curiosity to see what the controversy regarding its satirical approach is about then is worth immediately forgetting about afterwards. Truthfully said, one is better off avoiding the film altogether and looking for a more satisfying suspense story released this year (I'm looking at you The Invisible Man).

Final Verdict: For those looking for an entertaining action-thriller that's consistent in both story and tone, The Hunt should be skipped as its both messy and unwelcoming with it's shots fired approach at both sides of the political aisle in place of its promising survival storyline.