I Will Follow
Bittersweet Drama Chronicles Day in the Life of Grief-Stricken Caregiver
I
Will Follow
Order
via Amazon.com
Unrated
Running time: 88 Minutes
Studio: Forward Movement
Distributor: African-American Film Festival Releasing
Movement (AaFFRM)
Film Review by Kam Williams
Excellent (4 stars)
For some reason, most movies aimed at African-American audiences tend to be
either over-the-top comedies or morality plays too melodramatic in tone to
be taken very seriously. Flying in the face of that trend is I Will
Follow, one of those refreshingly rare treats which simply presents
black folks in a recognizably realistic fashion, ala such similarly
understated classics as Eve’s Bayou (1997),
Nothing
But a Man (1964) and
The
Visit (2000).
Written and directed by Ava DuVernay (This Is the Life), the picture stars
Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Maye Fisher, a successful makeup artist who
put her career and her man (Blair Underwood) on hold to attend to a beloved
Aunt (Beverly Todd) battling cancer. Amanda had served as an inspirational
role model for Maye during childhood, which made it easy for the grateful
niece to resolve to return the favor at her hour of need.
The film unfolds in L.A. over the course of just 24 hours right in the wake
of Amanda’s funeral. At the point of departure, we find Maye preparing to
vacate the house she had rented for them to share since it had always been
her Aunt’s dream to live atop breathtaking Topanga Canyon. While packing up
their belongings, the grief-stricken caregiver pauses periodically to
reminisce about the fond memories triggered by this or that item she’s
wrapping.
However, between those evocative flashbacks, she has no choice but to attend
to a variety of mundane matters like terminating the television satellite
service and directing the moving men. Proving even more disruptive of Maye’s
mourning process is the arrival of Amanda’s absentee daughter, Fran (Michole
Briana White), who only showed up to collect her inheritance and to blame
her cousin for her estranged mother’s death.
"She wanted trees. She didn’t want to fight, or chemo," Maye
matter-of-factly," responds. But her heartfelt explanation falls on the deaf
ears of a witch who insensitively demands, "I want my mother’s stuff!"
before storming out.
At the end of the day, exhausted and drained, Maye finally finds a shoulder
to lean on in tow truck driver, Troy (Omari Hardwick. And before the sun can
set on this compelling, character-driven drama, she has to reassess her own
relationship priorities as she contemplates dating a sensitive brother
despite his modest means.
Congrats to Salli
Richardson-Whitfield for delivering a career performance, here, and to
Ava DuVernay for shooting such a thought-provoking meditation on mortality
in just a couple of weeks and on a micro budget.