THE GOOD:
Teyana Taylor's performance in ONE THOUSAND AND ONE is transcendent. She makes you forget that this film wants desperately to be Moonlight (2016).
The set design and production design perfectly replicate Harlem during the deleterious eras of Giuliani and Bloomberg.
The hair & makeup and wardrobe captured the true essence of the times.
THE ISSUES: I wanted more from the story. It felt so incomplete. It's absent of any real stakes until the twist late in the 3rd Act.
Time leapfrogs so suddenly. Scenes transition with such abrupt finality. Title cards are used sparingly and inconsistently.
Will Catlett's Maryland accept was so prominent. If he's going to play Teddy Pendergrass 🤞🏾, he's gotta shake that accent fast.
For a 90s/00s period piece, this film deserved a better, more nostalgic score. The score seemed to belong to a totally different movie. If budget was a concern, it needed to license at least two 90s songs to give the setting and tone authenticity.
Overall, A. V. Rockwell's direction and screenplay were amateurish. She used techniques as a shorts filmmaker that don't translate to long form feature filmmaking. This film might have fared better as a limited series because it felt episodic, at times.
This film IS worth seeing in the theater for Teyana Taylor's performance.
The set design and production design perfectly replicate Harlem during the deleterious eras of Giuliani and Bloomberg.
The hair & makeup and wardrobe captured the true essence of the times.
THE ISSUES: I wanted more from the story. It felt so incomplete. It's absent of any real stakes until the twist late in the 3rd Act.
Time leapfrogs so suddenly. Scenes transition with such abrupt finality. Title cards are used sparingly and inconsistently.
Will Catlett's Maryland accept was so prominent. If he's going to play Teddy Pendergrass 🤞🏾, he's gotta shake that accent fast.
For a 90s/00s period piece, this film deserved a better, more nostalgic score. The score seemed to belong to a totally different movie. If budget was a concern, it needed to license at least two 90s songs to give the setting and tone authenticity.
Overall, A. V. Rockwell's direction and screenplay were amateurish. She used techniques as a shorts filmmaker that don't translate to long form feature filmmaking. This film might have fared better as a limited series because it felt episodic, at times.
This film IS worth seeing in the theater for Teyana Taylor's performance.