\n<\/p>\n
\n\tHeavy hang the themes permeating Nadia Latif\u2019s adaptation of Walter Mosley\u2019s 2004 novel. Unlike the crime fiction that has proven so popular for the author, The Man in the<\/em> Basement<\/em>, while possessing some thriller-ish aspects, is more a book of ideas. Too many ideas, probably, since the fairly simple storylines touch on such themes as power dynamics, race relations, colonialism, guilt, redemption and more.<\/p>\n \n\tThe film, co-written by Mosley and Latif, the latter making her feature directorial debut, faces the nearly impossible task of making all these ideas coherent \u2014 and only partially succeeds. But thanks to its powerful atmospherics and superb performances by its two leads Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe, the film should appeal to viewers looking for more intellectual fare upon its limited theatrical release before streaming later this year on Hulu.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe Man in My Basement\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tThe Bottom Line<\/span> \tA shaky, if not uninteresting, proposition. \t\t\t\t\t\t\tVenue<\/strong>: Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery) \n\tSet in the \u201890s in a Black neighborhood of the tony seaside village of Sag Harbor, the story revolves around Charles Blakely (Hawkins), who has settled into a life of dissolution after losing his bank job due to petty embezzlement. Drinking heavily, financially destitute, and living in the rundown house his family has owned for generations, he spends most of his free time playing cards with his friends Ricky (Jonathan Ajayi) and Clarence (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.).<\/p>\n \n\tHis life takes a dramatic turn when a well-dressed stranger knocks on his door. The man introduces himself as Anniston Bennett (Dafoe), gives Charles his business card and makes a startling offer. He wants to rent Charles\u2019 unfurnished basement for 65 days, promising $65,000 in cash, delivered in installments, as payment.<\/p>\n \n\tCharles initially turns him away but, faced with the possible loss of his home because of his inability to pay his mortgage, he contacts Anniston and accepts the offer. Soon, large packages are being delivered to the house. When the obviously well-heeled businessman shows up to begin his stay, he seems unruffled by the basement\u2019s dank conditions.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd that\u2019s when things get really strange. The next day, Charles brings Anniston breakfast, only to discover that he\u2019s locked himself in a large metal cage he\u2019s erected overnight. Horrified at the optics of a Black man keeping a white man prisoner in his basement, Charles nearly ends the arrangement but is finally persuaded to hold up his end of the deal.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cCall it a spiritual journey,\u201d explains the enigmatic Anniston to the befuddled Charles, adding that he\u2019s going to use the time to do \u201csome reading, thinking, maybe a little writing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMeanwhile, Charles, who had discovered several African masks while cleaning out the basement, strikes up a friendship with a local antique dealer, Narciss (a very good Anna Diop, Nann<\/em>y), who is so convinced of their historical importance that she proposes that, instead of selling them, she create a small museum centering on them and other artifacts in his home.<\/p>\n \n\tThe encounters between Charles and the mysterious man locked up in his basement, alternately genial and tense and eventually deeply disturbing, form the crux of the film. Hawkins and Dafoe play off each other superbly, the power dynamics shifting as the psychically unraveling Charles begins using coercive methods to force his captive to reveal secrets shedding light on his motivations for the self-induced imprisonment (none of which prove very convincing).<\/p>\n \n\tThe problem is that the allegory-laden storyline doesn\u2019t play out realistically, nor does it fully satisfy on thematic terms. Unlike, say, Leave the World Behind<\/em>, which similarly contained weighty ideas in its suspense-driven, apocalyptic storyline, The Man in the Basement<\/em> proves plodding in its story dynamics. By the time it concludes with a lengthy quote from The Wretched<\/em> of the Earth<\/em>, Fritz Fanon\u2019s classic psychological study of the dehumanizing effects of colonization, it has long since started to feel like a thesis in search of a plot.<\/p>\n \n\tNonetheless, the film proves at least somewhat compelling, with director Latif providing enough tension and chilling visuals to keep viewers engaged. Hawkins draws us in throughout, unafraid to make Charles\u2019 fragility palpable. And Dafoe, an actor who\u2019s always excelled at playing off-kilter figures, keeps us guessing about the soft-spoken but steely Anniston, who seems intent on paying for not only his sins but those of oppressors in general.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Heavy hang the themes permeating Nadia Latif\u2019s adaptation of Walter Mosley\u2019s 2004 novel. Unlike the crime fiction that has proven so popular for the author, The Man in the Basement, while possessing some thriller-ish aspects, is more a book of ideas. Too many ideas, probably, since the fairly simple storylines touch on such themes as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[11900,11310,11901,622,11309],"class_list":{"0":"post-19434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-corey","9":"tag-dafoe","10":"tag-hawkins","11":"tag-star","12":"tag-willem"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Cast<\/strong>: Corey Hawkins, Willem Dafoe, Anna Diop, Jonathan Ajayi, Gershwyn Eustache Jr., Pamela Nomvete, Tamara Lawrence
Director<\/strong>: Nadia Latif
Screenwriters<\/strong>: Walter Mosley, Nadia Latif
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRated R,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 hour 55 minutes\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n