When anyone compares any film to Jordan Peele’s Get Out (as some reviews referred to Black Box, I pay attention. Marketing ploy aside, that is a big boast, especially for a direct streaming film. So are reviewers right? Or is this something to be avoided?
The Story: After losing his wife and memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is. (Google)
What I liked: There’s a few things, but first, let’s praise the many shades of melanin depicted in this thriller. This is the benefit of representation. It creates a hungry market for content, and dispenses hope for writers like me. Maybe one day, my stories will hit the silver screen too.
Black Box feels unique to me in that I can’t recall anything like it. There’s a single father dealing with trauma, black doctors, and a savvy and self-aware young girl. In a few minutes of the intro, I already enjoy the acting and I find the characters convincing.
I really love the bit of Afrofuturism too. True a it’s sci-fi thriller there is a renown doctor testing on her Black Box technology that helps restore memories. There isn’t a lot of techno-babel so not to throw viewers off,but I wonder if a bit more was needed.
The story hold together and is surprisingly a deeply emotional one, because it’s driven so well by the father and daughter main leads.
Without given too much away, I think Phylicia Rashad is doing a great job milking her tough love Mrs Huxtable persona.
What I Don’t Like: Although, I can see why reviewers see echos of Get Out in Black Box, it doesn’t quite strike the same punch.
When I think of black boxes, I think of storage devices for memories. I also think of coffins, where memories are laid to rest. What Black Box aims to be is a story about traumas power over our memories and memories coming back to haunt us. Sometimes we remember those things differently. We change their truths. Because of that, there are scenes of gaps of time missing, of forgetting, and the fear of losing your mind. However, the threat of those things never felt like it had stakes, until the second act.
What would’ve helped could’ve been more character motivations. We ultimately delve into memories and the lives of two characters, but we forget that this is happening to BLACK BODIES.
The fear of Noah, played by Mamoudo Athie, being reported to Child Protective Services should be terrifying because of the history of broken black families created by such systems. It’s just mentioned and doesn’t feel like the threat it should be.
The fact that one black man could never actualize his dream to be a doctor in a high achieving family and the shame that it created is a great character motivation. It’s talked about but never shown.
I love character driven work and when those characters don’t get to show their stories, the overall product lacks. And Black Box lacks a bit.
Verdict: The emotional beats are there. The imagery is there. It won’t be a classic, but you certainly won’t be disappointed. Black Box is currently available on Amazon Prime.