Where I Watched it: MAX

English Audio Description?: Yes

This is the newest winner of the project Greenlight series. Of course, back in the day, the winner got a theatrical release, but I suppose you get what you get nowadays. The judges made sure to pick a woman of color to show off how underrated that group is. I watched the first episode, and i was a little disappointed we got to the winner so quickly.

On the plus side, they chose Mia Issac to headline this, and I’m a big fan. She delivered two fantastic performances last year in really underrated films, and I’m hoping she breaks out. Aside from Mia, the most recognizable cast member is Garrett Dillahunt, and we’ll get to that.

The film is largely indie superhero. It reminded me a lot of Sleight, which made a solid use of limited resources. Here, Mia plays a girl who is home schooled because she has a very particular set of skills, which her mother also has, and she’s trying to teach her how to use the powers before the bad men come. Like any teen girl, she craves connection with literally anyone but her mom, and she meets a boy. Then, things take a turn for the worse. I would say she ends up at Xavier’s School For Gifted Youth, but that’s the marvel version of this film. So, she finds a facility for “people like her”. But is this nefarious?

There are many different changes i would have made here. Not a lot of this worked. I didn’t have a problem with the action, but to talk about why I don’t really like this film gets into spoiler territory, so I’ll be vague. The movie needs you to question whether the mother is actually doing the right thing for her daughter, much in the same way Sarah Paulson’s character in Run created that mysterious unease. it worked there, it doesn’t work here. Her mother comes across as sincere, just with some questionable methods.

Later, when she lands at the not X-Men school, I never believed any of what the film was trying to sell me. The action is sporadic in this film, and since the director originally got the gig from a horror short, there’s unexplainable gore.

I think the movie would have been stronger if Rue (Issac) had been left to her own devices, with her mom taken out early. She has some interesting powers which would have allowed her to do more of the time shifts, when she wants to hear something specific her mom says. it’s like having great memory recall, but we get to see it play out. it would have left her in a much different position for the second half as we aren’t following her mother trying to find her, and she’d be left to make up her own mind.

The whole film is predicated on the idea that Rue isn’t ready, and knows nothing. but, if you take the mom out, and leave Rue to have to make decisions on her own, realizing how many times she did actually pay attention to her mom not only would have made for a creatively stronger film, but a more emotionally resonant as Rue would be visiting her mom in her memories.

Instead, this happened.

The audio description is really good. The narrator’s voice is ambiguous enough that it makes sense for a film that seems to avoid choosing a genre for itself. It wants to be a lot of things, and by picking this narrator, we seem to have allowed for the possibility to go anywhere. Plus, the description of how the powers are used, and what happens in the most violent film moments is also important.

in the end, it’s the kind of flat debut from someone destined to do TV directing. This film owes too much to movies like Carrie and X-Men to be praised for being daringly original, and as the Project Greenlight series was hosted by Gina Prince Blythewood, it’s such a strong contrast between this directorial debut, and when Gina broke onto the screen with the still beloved love and Basketball. Gina is such a strong director, I’m surprised more of her talents didn’t rub off.

It still has Mia Issac though, and that girl is going places.

Final Grade: C+