VIFF Centre Screening
Writer-director Krystin Ver Linden’s kick-ass first film – which injects a funky blaxploitation vibe into a slave plantation scenario – features a jaw-dropping twist worthy of M Night Shyamalan or Jordan Peele. But it comes just half an hour into the story. Alice (Keke Palmer) works in the fields and as a domestic for Paul Bennet (Jonny Lee Miller), a Georgia cotton farmer who keeps his slaves in line with brutal discipline and cruelty. Paul takes a shine to Alice, not realizing that she is making ready to run… If you like to be surprised by movies, you may want to stop reading now.
Ver Linden is clearly cognizant of the pitfalls of focussing on images of Black oppression and distress. Instead, she imagines a looking glass world where Alice can find pride and empowerment, boldly juxtaposing the inequities of the past with reflections on the present. Not everything here is neat and tidy, but it’s fresh and fun, with a knock-out performance from star-in-the-making Keke Palmer.
“A rousing, empowering fable… Keke Palmer is phenomenal in this crowd-pleaser that sprints toward its big cheers.” Variety
“Bold and enlightening… deftly executed.” Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily
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