Review: All Day and A Night

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They don't look at all.

 When we meet Jahkor (Ashton Sanders) he's shooting two people to death in front of their young child. As he's sentenced to the same prison as his father, JD, (Jeffrey Wright) a man who he never wanted to become, Jahkor reflects on everything that happened before this moment.

 At one point as Jahkor narrates, he mentions that this is the "same story on fucking repeat" and it is. What writer/director Joe Robert Cole captures well is the hopelessness that you feel throughout. I was intrigued seeing that this was coming from the man who co-wrote Black Panther and also a few excellent episode in American Crime Story's first season. I felt like he had a lot of ideas, and maybe just a bit too many for a two hour film.

 I found this very disjointed. The opening scene is gripping. The mother of the woman he murders begs to know "why?" and we know that will eventually get answered, but it's going to take its time. The timeline jumps back and forth around Jahkor's life often. It's not that it's hard to follow, but it messes with the flow almost every time we transition scenes.

 I've been trying to write this review for over a week. The actors did a good job but I just did not like this as much as I wanted to, and I'm struggling to even write about it now. 

 Recommended: No

Grade: C

 Memorable Quote: "Just because I ended up like my father, don't mean my son got to." - Jahkor (Ashton Sanders) 

Comments

  1. thevoid99May 16, 2020 at 2:08 PM

    That's a shame considering the amount of talent in this film. Oh well...

    ReplyDelete
  2. JayMay 17, 2020 at 5:53 AM

    I couldn't like it either. It felt like several films smooshed into one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. keith71_98May 18, 2020 at 8:44 AM

    I've had a review for this written for several days but still haven't posted it. We pretty much land in the same place with it. Several things feel too familiar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 18, 2020 at 3:09 PM

      I watched this about two weeks ago and I just had trouble writing about it. It just disappoints me because I wanted it to be better.

      Delete

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