REVIEW: “The Long Night” (2022)

February 9, 2022 by Keith Garlington

The new rural horror film “The Long Night” is a prime example of a movie that’s working from a good idea but that lacks the substance (and at times the budget) to see that idea through. It’s a bit of a mishmash of several horror sub-genres which is intriguing in itself. But there just isn’t enough story to even fill the film’s 90-plus minute running time.

Directed by Rich Ragsdale and penned by Robert Sheppe and Mark Young, “The Long Night” focuses on a woman named Grace (Scout Taylor-Compton) and her search for her parents who she’s never known. We learn that she grew up in a foster home and has spent the last ten years looking for clues about her family and their Southern roots. Most have led to nothing but dead-ends.

While in her New York City apartment, which she shares with her Ivy League boyfriend Jack (Nolan Gerard Funk), Grace gets a call from a man named Frank who has been doing research for her in an unidentified Southern state. He tells her he’s found a compelling lead about her parents and she needs to come to his farmhouse ASAP. He gives her the old “If I’m not there, let yourself in. The key is under the flower pot.” There’s your first red light.

As they pack, Jack suggests a detour to the Hamptons where he can finally introduce Grace to his parents. She is immediately overjoyed but also a bit anxious. “Don’t worry”, Jack assures her, “everything is going to be fine.“ Talk about famous last words in a horror movie. And there you have red light #2.

Cut to the opening credits were Grace and Jack are driving down a remote country highway. Things clearly didn’t go well with Jack’s parents which has left Grace with a sour taste in her mouth. Soon the couple arrives at Frank’s rustic two-story farmhouse as ominous and foreboding music (that doesn’t really match the beautiful rural scenery) wails in the background. That aggressively creepy music – red light #3.

As you probably guessed, Frank isn’t home but the key is right where he said it would be. The two settle in and check out the house. Grace finds the old-timey style charming while Jack’s jerkiness and upper-crust condescension kicks in. But then there are the signs that something’s not right – the off-putting smell in the bedroom, a snake in the kitchen, and the weird totem in the nearby woods. “It’s a southern thing,” Grace explains. Ummm, is it really?

Of course there is something ‘not right’, namely the black-robed demon-worshiping cultists in cattle skull masks who appear after dark and surround the home. What follows is a lot of screaming, lots of fog, lots of running around in the house, lots of running through the woods, lots of hazy hallucinations, lots of spiraling camera tricks. Even Jeff Fahey pops up out of the blue.

Unfortunately what we don’t get is much in terms of story. The movie struggles to fill the space between its catchy setup and the eventual reveal. Ragsdale incorporates a rather pointless chapter structure to break things up a bit, and Taylor-Compton gives it her all. But neither can compensate for the lack of emotional and dramatic heft during the film’s middle patch. And neither the spooky backwoods tropes or the deranged death cult can muster the kind of tension this movie desperately needs. “The Long Night” is out now in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Random Thoughts: On the 2022 Oscar Nominations

February 8, 2022 by Keith Garlington

A peculiar 2021 movie year semi-officially comes to an end with the 2022 Academy Awards. This morning the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced their much anticipated nominees for this year’s Oscars. As is the case every year, this batch has its share of surprises – a few good, plenty of bad, and some that are downright perplexing. Needless to say they’ve left us with plenty to talk about. Here are a few random thoughts about the 2022 Oscar nominations.

It was a big morning for “Dune” which I loved to see. It ended the morning with a total of 10 Oscar nominations. It was my favorite movie of the year so clearly no arguments here.
Except in Best Director! How on earth did Denis Villeneuve not get a directing nomination for “Dune”? It scores a nod in so many other eligible category but not Best Director? Anderson for “Licorice Pizza”? Hamaguchi for “Drive My Car”? But no Villenueve? (enter eye-rolling emoji here).
And how the heck was Leslie Jordan pronouncing Denis Villenueve’s name??? Not Snoop Dog level bad but close.
While I’m on the subject of egregious omissions, Caitriona Balfe misses out on a Supporting Actress nomination. It’s a baffling snub considering how she has earned nominations at nearly every other awards season stop. Not to mention, her performance was sublime. Easily among the year’s best. The category loses some of its credibility without her there.
Speaking of Supporting Actress, the Academy gave a nomination to Balfe’s “Belfast” co-star Judy Dench. Don’t get me wrong, Dench was great, but over Balfe? What am I missing?
So I’m guessing the Academy members forgot to watch “Mass”?
To no surprise, “The Power of the Dog” led the way with 12 total nominations. It seems to have the wind at its back heading into Oscar night. Can’t say I agree with all the buzz surrounding it, but hearing its named called so often this morning was no surprise.
Will anyone beat Jane Campion for Best Director.
Bummer to see no Peter Dinklage nod for his brilliant work in “Cyrano”. He absolutely should have been included in the Best Actor race.
“Drive My Car” became a popular Oscar pick on social media, and it seems to have gotten the push it needed. The Japanese road-trip movie won nominations for Best Picture, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, and International Feature. It’s a good movie. Still not convinced it’s a great one.
I miss Dick Poop.
Denzel Washington gets his tenth Oscar nomination for his incredible performance in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. I hope he wins. He should win.
Back to Supporting Actress, Ariana DeBose continues to be the front-runner and for good reason. She is spectacular in “West Side Story”. It would be a stunner if she doesn’t win the award.
Oh, and Jessie Buckley gets nominated for “The Lost Daughter”. High Five!
Speaking of “West Side Story” (and going back to glaring omissions), Mike Faist gets shut out of the Supporting Actor category. While he has received a little love throughout awards season, I still feel this is one of the more underappreciated performances of the year. He absolutely deserves a nomination.
Jesse Plemons instead of Faist? I’m a Plemons fan and he was good in “The Power of the Dog”. But it wasn’t a performance that (dare I say) stood out. In fact, he vanishes for a huge chunk of the second half. Compare that to Faist who was a powerful presence throughout “West Side Story”.
LOVED seeing “Nightmare Alley” getting a Best Picture nomination. It’s a movie that seems to have slipped under too many radars, but I’m so glad the Academy recognized it.
One last thing on Supporting Actress (I promise), I was really hoping for a Cate Blanchett nomination for “Nightmare Alley”. What a scene-stealer.
Too much “Don’t Look Up”! I get the feeling Adam McKay must have a lot of friends in the voting ranks. I actually liked “Don’t Look Up” better than most of his films. But Best Picture? Best Original Screenplay? Nope.
And too much “Licorice Pizza”. I know there is a strong ‘PTA can do no wrong’ sentiment, but this was a pretty good but not great movie. And that’s not even counting the story’s inherent ickiness that some (including the Academy apparently) have found ways to gloss over.
I know some people were fussing, but I loved seeing J.K. Simmons nominated in Supporting Actor for “Being the Ricardos”. I thought he was a hoot.
While I’m glad Bradley Cooper didn’t get a nod for “Licorice Pizza” (he was hilarious but sorry, it was a cameo), I would have loved to see him slip into the Best Actor group for “Nightmare Alley”.
I hate to sound so negative, but absolutely nothing for Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero”? Talk about a movie that deserved at the very least an International Feature Film nomination. To be honest, I can come up with several other categories it deserved to be in. Sad.
Great seeing CODA get some love this morning. I don’t expect it to win anything, but it’s great to see this small but delightful movie get several mentions
And how can you not be happy for Troy Kotsur?
Nothing for “The French Dispatch”? Not even Production Design or Score?
There was much Twitter concern of Kristen Stewart getting snubbed for Best Actress. To be honest, there was reason to be concerned following the SAG and the Globes. But she did indeed get a nomination, and I think she’s legitimately in the mix to win.
I love how “Belfast” gets under so many people’s skin. I adore the movie and think it deserves every nomination it received. At the same time, it kinda feels like one of those movies that gets a lot of nominations but doesn’t take many home (especially after Balfe’s criminal snub).
“King Richard” had a bigger showing than I expected, picking up nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Original Screenplay.
So the Jared Leto saga can end (at least for this year). No nomination for him and little overall for Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci”.
Was anyone else surprised to see “tick, tick…BOOM!” get nominated in Best Editing? I liked but didn’t love the film and can’t remember much about the editing other than when it killed the film’s most emotional scene. Oh well.
Costume Design is such a strong category this year. All nominees deserve recognition, but I really wish “Spencer” could have made the cut.
Wordsmith Aaron Sorkin seemed to be a lock for a screenplay nomination for “Being the Ricardos” but not this year.
“The Mitchells vs The Machines” is not only worthy of a nomination, it deserves to win.
Tony Kushner really should’ve gotten a Best Adapted Screenplay nod for “West Side Story”.

Here is the full list of this year’s nominees….

Best Picture
Belfast
Coda
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Directing
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

Best Actor
Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM!
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Best Supporting Actor
Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
Troy Kotsur, Coda
Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog
J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Judi Dench, Belfast
Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard

Best Adapted Screenplay
Coda
Drive My Car
Dune
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog

Best Original Screenplay
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Worst Person in the World

Best International Feature Film
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand of God
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
The Worst Person in the World

Best Animated Feature Film
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Cinematography
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story

Best Costume Design
Cruella
Cyrano
Dune
Nightmare Alley
West Side Story

Best Documentary Feature
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Writing With Fire

Best Documentary Short Subject
Audible
Lead Me Home
The Queen of Basketball
Three Songs for Benazir
When We Were Bullies

Best Film Editing
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Production Design
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Coming 2 America
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci

Best Visual Effects
Dune
Free Guy
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home

Best Sound
Belfast
Dune
No Time to Die
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Best Original Score
Don’t Look Up
Dune
Encanto
Parallel Mothers
The Power of the Dog

Best Original Song
“Be Alive,” King Richard
“Dos Oruguitas,” Encanto
“Down to Joy,” Belfast
“No Time to Die,” No Time to Die
“Somehow You Do,” Four Good Days

Best Animated Short Film
Affairs of the Art
Bestia
Boxballet
Robin Robin
The Windshield Wiper

Best Live-Action Short Film
Ala Kachuu — Take and Run
The Dress
The Long Goodbye
On My Mind
Please Hold

K&M Commentary: Awards Season Should Be All About the Movies

February 8, 2022 by Keith Garlington

(CLICK HERE to read my full essay on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

For movie fans, awards season should be fun. It’s the time when we get to focus on movies, specifically those considered by many to be the best from the previous year. It’s when regional critics groups around the country dole out their lists of big winners. It’s when we watch as voters for BAFTA, SAG, Critics Choice, the Golden Globes, and the Academy Awards (among others) hand out gaudy statues to their favorites films, performances, and so on.

In non-pandemic years, the bigger and often-televised celebrations of movies come with posh, over-the-top, red carpet extravagance, where questions like “Who are you wearing?” are as prevalent as “Tell me about your movie.” Meanwhile we critics are sent everything from massive coffee table books to metal flasks with shot glasses from studios promoting their films during awards season.

But deep down it’s all about the movies (or at least it should be). It’s all about celebrating the people in front of and behind the cameras who impressed us the most. I know for some it’s almost passé to say you enjoy awards season. After all, putting together Top 10 lists, predicting the big winners, watching on Oscar night – it all means little when it comes to the subjective notion of the year’s “best” movie or performance. Still, there’s value to be found in these silly albeit long-running entertainment rituals.

If you frequent the mercurial wildlands of social media it may be hard to tell whether people enjoy awards season or not. In fact, there seems to be a growing urge to critique and criticize everything from the nominees to how the nominations are announced. It’s hard to tell whether folks take these things too seriously or if they find complaining more fun than the movies themselves.

But make no mistake, there is plenty to be excited about this awards season. Take “The Power of the Dog”, an unconventional Western from Netflix that has a lot of Best Picture momentum. And its director, Jane Campion seems to be the front-runner for Best Director. Prior to this year, only two women have ever won an Oscar for directing. A Campion win would be the third and second in a row following Chloé Zhao’s 2021 achievement.

Then you have “West Side Story”, Steven Spielberg’s surprisingly glorious adaptation of Leonard Bernstein’s classic musical. There are so many ways this movie could have failed. But after big wins at the Golden Globes, 11 Critics Choices nominations, and Ariana DeBose winning every Supporting Actress award under the sun, “West Side Story” is a legitimate and worthy contender to “The Power of the Dog”.

And what about Kenneth Branagh’s heartfelt and heartbreaking “Belfast”? It too received 11 Critics Choice nominations and is viewed as a potential big winner. But while it does have a passionate following, unfortunately “Belfast” finds itself as this year’s designated punching bag, fashionably dismissed by too many as little more than a feel-good crowd-pleaser. Could it be one of those films that racks up the nominations but wins little? Personally, I’d love to see it ruffle a few feathers on Oscar night.

There are several other compelling storylines unfolding. For example, “Drive My Car” – a three-hour Japanese road drama that has gathered steam as it has made its way through critics circles. Could it pull a “Parasite” and sneak into the Best Picture race? And Kristen Stewart, a sure-fire Oscar nominee coming out of Venice but who has since lost the Golden Globe to Nicole Kidman and missed out on a SAG nomination altogether. Suddenly her Oscar chances are completely up in the air.

Those are the types of conversations that make awards season such a blast. And while crowning any one movie or performance as the year’s definitive “best” is an impossible undertaking, these things still “matter”. In most cases the winners will be added to a long and esteemed list. Many will see boosts to their careers and opportunities opened up that they would have never had before.

So here are a couple of tips going into awards season. 1) Don’t take them too seriously. 2) Keep your focus on what’s most important – the movies. They’re what brings smiles to our faces and tears to our eyes. They transport us to distant worlds and force us to wrestle with our own. They can warm our hearts or trouble our souls. They can be funny, scary, thrilling, or romantic. Movies do all these things and more. So let’s kick back and enjoy the celebration.

REVIEW: “Clean” (2022)

February 7, 2022 by Keith Garlington

(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Adrien Brody plays a garbage man with an ax to grind in director Paul Solet’s dour and abrasive crime drama “Clean”. Co-written and co-produced by Brody, “Clean” has a lot in common with other movies of its kind. You have the quiet and brooding loner with the dark and mysterious past. There’s the longing for and vain attempt at some semblance of a normal life. Then (of course) there’s that one event that provides the catalyst for the movie’s big violent finish.

All of those story beats may ring familiar, but Solet and Brody approach their material in a way that almost gives the illusion of something fresh. It’s found in their strangely slow and pensive pacing. “Clean” takes its time unpacking its main character, giving just as much attention to his psychology as his more “savage” physical abilities. It even begins with grim yet hammy philosophical narration that features lines like “I’m still looking for answers. I just don’t know the questions anymore.“

With his pale complexion, tired eyes, thick black beard and a gravelly snarl, Brody plays a man called Clean. He drives a trash truck route around the outskirts of New York City, collecting old scrap for himself along the way. At home, in a dried-up forgotten part of town, he uses the scrap to fix up old junked appliances which he sells to a local pawn shop owner (RZA) for cash. When he’s not running his truck, he’s repainting abandoned neighborhood houses. It’s a mundane ritual, but it keeps him focused on something other than his dark impulses.

The one shimmer of light in his otherwise gloomy life is a young girl from his neighborhood named Dianda (Chandler DuPont). Each day Clean fixes her lunch and drops it off before she heads to school. It’s a sense of paternalism that stems from a traumatic bond the two share. Dianda lost both of her parents and now lives with her grandmother. Clean is tortured by a particularly devastating tragedy from his past (as these character types usually are). He lost his daughter, a victim of a lifestyle he brought into their home. Helping Dianda is his self-imposed act of penance.

The film’s big baddie comes in the form of a local drug kingpin named Michael (Glenn Fleshler). He’s your standard issue movie hood – part gangster, part sociopath. He operates out of a local fish market where he runs a tight ship. The one thorn in his side is his apathetic son Mikey (Richie Merritt) who would rather hang out with his friends smoking weed and listening to hip-hop than learning the family business.

Without getting into the details (not that they matter much), Dianda gets sucked in by some local hooligans which quickly turns Clean from good shepherd to avenging angel. It begins a violent chain of events, eventually putting Clean in Michael’s crosshairs. From there it careens towards its inevitable climax – one that’s brutally exhilarating to a point, but with little in terms of originality. Think of it as a dialed-down “John Wick” minus the style. Or maybe “Taxi Driver” but with a grittiness that often feels manufactured rather than inherent to the storytelling.

The movie is also helped by a really strong Adrien Brody performance. Considering some of his more recent roles, it may be easy for some to forget how good of an actor he really is. To the 48-year-old’s credit, he pours himself into the character, fully committed and fittingly stoic. He brings a hard-edged physicality to the action scenes, but he’s also good in the quieter moments. For example he shares some strong scenes with Mykelti Williamson who plays Clean’s sponsor. Their barbershop therapy sessions are when the film feels its most honest.

Despite Brody’s best efforts, there is still something undeniably derivative about “Clean”. The performances are solid, the setting is authentic, the bursts of gruesome violence are well shot and have a basis in the story. There are even moments of real sincerity and pathos. Yet at its core there’s really nothing here we haven’t seen many times before. It’s a nagging reality that I never could shake and that zaps the movie of its urgency.

It’s unfortunate really because this is clearly a passion project for Brody. But at this point, if you’re going to do ‘the moody guy seeking redemption for his violent past’ story you need to bring something fresh to the story. The film’s early patience teases that. But in the end it’s hard to find anything particularly new or surprising.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Moonfall” (2022)

February 4, 2022 by Keith Garlington

(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Roland Emmerich and the phrase “global cinematic destruction” go together like peanut butter and jelly. A quick gander at his Wikipedia page will give you a good idea of the 66-year-old German-born filmmaker’s penchant for blowing up our world. He’s done it with aliens (twice), a giant lizard, extreme weather, and whatever the heck was happening in his 2009 flick “2012”. In fairness, Emmerich has done more than just disaster movies, but they are what clearly whets his appetite.

New to theaters this weekend is “Moonfall”, Emmerich’s latest exercise in computer-generated decimation of our planet. As the film’s title makes glaringly clear, this time it isn’t extraterrestrial armies or the next Ice Age that’s threatening us. Nope, this time it’s our moon which has been knocked out of its orbit and is barreling towards earth. Absurd you say? Well rest assured, “Moonfall” is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds, and that’s part of what makes it such a surprisingly fun ride.

Sometimes movies hit you at just the right time. Such is the case with “Moonfall”. After over two months of cramming awards season features followed by a jam-packed week covering the Sundance Film Festival, I was ready for a light and breezy popcorn flick. “Moonfall” certainly fits the bill. It’s the kind of movie that you go into knowing exactly what you’re going to get. If you’re hoping for more, you’ll probably be disappointed.

In 2011, astronauts and close friends Jocinda “Jo” Fowler (Halle Berry) and Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) are on a routine satellite repair mission above Earth. While working on a relay and debating the lyrics of Toto’s 1982 pop hit “Africa”, they are suddenly walloped by a mysterious swarm-like force that destroys the satellite and kills the third member of their team. The mysterious entity (later defined as a “technological space anomaly”) heads to our moon and begins boring a hole in its surface.

Jump ahead ten years where Jo and Brian are no longer on speaking terms. A decade earlier he tried to tell the world that the incident was the result of an attack by something never seen before. She stuck with the “officially statement” from NASA, that it was the result of a solar flare. Jo was able to keep her job with the space program. Brian lost everything and now spends his days working on his old sports car and dodging eviction notices.

But then self-described megastructuralist and astronaut wannabe K. C. Houseman (John Bradley) makes an alarming discovery – the moon is out of its orbit and heading towards Earth. NASA won’t return his calls and Brian brushes him off. So he takes it to the media. In the meantime, Jo and her team make the same discovery. They send up a lunar recon mission which ends disastrously after it’s confronted by the same swarm-like entity Brian warned them about.

So for those keeping tabs, you have the moon hurtling towards Earth, an unidentified but clearly aggressive “technological space anomaly”, and roughly three weeks for our leaders to come up with a plan to save humanity. And as you can probably guess, it’ll all come down to our three unlikely heroes: a disgraced astronaut, the former friend/colleague who sold him out, and a conspiracy theorist who a week earlier was working the window at a burger joint. Normally that wouldn’t leave much cause for hope. But in the movies…

Eventually the film boils down to the events unfolding on two fronts. You have what’s happening in space as Brian, Jo, and K.C. launch into orbit to meet the moon head-on. Then you have what’s happening on Earth where Brian’s estranged son, Sonny (Charlie Plummer) and several other underdeveloped side characters try to survive amid the tidal waves, crashing moon debris, and the occasional shotgun-toting rednecks. Both allow Emmerich ample opportunities to shower his audience with eye-popping spectacle.

“Moonfall” almost plays like two genre films wrapped in one. The cornier and less interesting stuff on Earth is your standard-issue disaster material – dazzling large-scale digital destruction and characters in constant peril. The much better space stuff is full-blown science fiction. It’s surprisingly dense and well conceived and is inspired by everything from the Dyson sphere theory to Larry Niven’s “Ringworld”. Better yet, it goes further down the rabbit hole than I was ever expecting (and that’s a compliment).

Of course all of it is undeniably preposterous and there is no shortage of unintentional laughs (My favorite may be our dimwitted government whose plan is to nuke the moon. You heard me right – they literally think nuking our moon is a viable option. Fifth grade science anyone?). But if I’m honest, that kind of nuttiness is half the fun with a movie like this. It may prove too much for some, but for me “Moonfall” hit at just the right time. And I would be lying if I didn’t admit to being entertained. “Moonfall” opens today exclusively in theaters.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Sundance Review: “Emergency” (2022)

February 3, 2022 by Keith Garlington

One of the last (and as it turns out most well received) movies I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Carey Williams’ “Emergency”, a feature film adaptation of a short film that Williams debuted at Sundance back in 2018. The movie introduces itself as a college buddy comedy, but it slowly takes a different form over the course of its lively 105 minutes.

Written by KD Dávila, the story revolves around two best friends with opposing world views who have their friendship challenged over the course of one long and wild night. While comedy plays a significant role, the movie soon reveals its deeper thematic interests, namely the bond of true friendship and what it means to be a young black man in America. The only problem is once you have a good sense of its message, it’s pretty easy to see where things are heading.

Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler) are two best buddies and roommates at Buchanan University. While the two have a lot in common, they come from very different places. The buttoned-up and bookish Kunle is an aspiring doctor who comes from a wealthy suburban family. The more cynical and hardened Sean (RJ Cyler) comes from a much tougher background. Kunle has already been accepted into Princeton, but he needs to ace his thesis to seal the deal. Sean spends more time vaping and scouting out the local party scene than nailing down his goals for the future.

The two pals have a big plans for the evening – hitting seven legendary campus parties in one night. When they go to their apartment to prep for the “pre-game”, they discover an unconscious white girl (Maddie Nichols) laying in their living room floor. Kunle’s instincts are to immediately call 911. The more pessimistic Sean’s first thought is that once the police see two two young black man and an unconscious white girl, they’ll be arrested or maybe even gunned down.

Attempting to be the voice of reason, a nervous Kunle demands they at least take the girl to the hospital. Stoned and reeking of weed, Sean suggests dumping her on a nearby sorority house’s lawn. These are the kinds of wildly opposing ideas the two throw out for most of the film. With the help of their skittish Latino roommate Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), the trio load the girl into their car. But what follows is a madcap series of good intentions but horrible decisions.

To add another wrinkle, at a nearby party a brash and egotistical co-ed named Maddie (Sabrina Carpenter) realizes her sister Emma is missing. You guessed it – Emma is the girl passed out on Kunle and Sean’s living room floor. So she, her incredibly tolerant best friend Alice (Madison Thompson), and Alice’s hunky crush (Diego Abraham) set out to find Emma.

It all moves towards a comically combustible yet poignant finish – one that’s (unfortunately) predictable yet still manages to be powerful. One reason the finish packs such a punch is because of the performances from the terrific young cast. Watkins and Cyler are especially good, possessing a snappy chemistry that enables us to buy into every facet of Kunle and Sean’s friendship (despite getting painfully little in terms of their backstory). And when the ending does come, the two actors give us something that’s both emotionally rich and palpable.

Another of the film’s strengths is found in Williams’ willingness to scrutinize both young men’s perspectives. From Sean’s cynicism to Kumle’s naïveté, both are earnest and very much shaped by their own life experiences. But as the story plays out, we see the strong points and flaws in both worldviews. As a result, it presents a more honest examination, one that takes on its serious real-world subject matter with an open-eyed sincerity.

“Emergency” has a lot going for it and it’ll be interesting to see how big of an audience it attracts (it has already been picked up by Amazon Studios). It doesn’t fully avoid the occasional on-the-nose preachiness and unfortunately it does tip its hand well before we get to the film’s big finish. But Williams mostly stays on course and skillfully maintains his balance between buddy comedy silliness and insightful commentary. He also puts together some scenes that will stick with you, none better than a late conversation between Kunle and Sean that is a masterclass in dramatic writing. It’s also a showcase for these two fine young actors who we should a lot more of in the years to come.