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Saul Williams

TIFF20: Akilla’s Escape

September 13, 2020 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Akilla’s Escape follows one night in the life of Akilla Brown (Saul Williams), a 40-year old drug trader who has decided that it’s time to get out of the game. Out on a routine hand-off, he is suddenly caught in the middle of a violent robbery. When he discovers that one of his attackers is , a fifteen-year-old Jamaican boy named Sheppard (Thamela Mpumlwana), he realizes that the young man is a member of the same criminal organization that he fell into himself as a child. As he attempts to help the him, Akilla must also confront his own upbringing as a youth (Mpumlwana again) in order to chart a new path for them both.

Written and directed by Charles Officer, Escape is a haunting experience that sits with you long after the film is over. Featuring bleeding colours and pulsating soundtrack, Escape visually creates two worlds and then blurs one into the next, highlighting the challenges of ever truly escaping the darkness entirely. Star Saul Williams—who also collaborated on the soundtrack with Massive Attack’s 3D—absolutely smolders onscreen as the elder Akilla, imbuing his character with confidence and humility. Not to be outdone, Mpumlwana is absolutely stunning as both the terrified Sheppard and the increasingly rage-fueled young Akilla. As a result of the film’s stellar cast and solid visuals, Akilla’s Escape is a gritty and visceral piece that serves as a tragic reminder of how difficult it can be to break free from our past yet Akilla’s journey also carries within it an admirable strength of character that feels hopeful. 

This is more than a film about gang life. 

This is a film with soul.

As he grapples with his own inner demons, Akilla’s journey is an example of what happens when our past collides with our present. Attempting to break the cyclical nature of violence and poverty, Akilla lives in a world that refuses to give him up. Ready to sell his profitable marijuana business, he believes the time is right to walk away, even if his business partners disagree. When he encounters Sheppard, Akilla’s personal journey feels as though it has come full circle. His desire to rescue the young man serves as both potential freedom for a youth heading down a dark path and redemption for his own lost childhood. (It’s worth noting here that Officer’s decision to cast the young Mpumlwana in both roles further highlights the fact that the elder Akilla sees himself in the young man.)

In many ways, Akilla’s father, Clinton (Ronnie Rowe), may be the subtle central figure of the film. Broken by his own childhood of violence, Clinton is abusive and filled with rage, passing on terrifying words of ‘wisdom’ to his young son. (“War is a matter of vital importance for the province of life,” he warns a wide-eyed Akilla.) Now grown himself, Akilla finds the words of his father ring in his ears, even as he kicks against them. Whereas Clinton pushed him towards violence, Akilla understands that hope lies beyond the barrel of a gun. For Akilla, his experience with Sheppard creates an opportunity to break the cycle and help someone take a new path, even as he carries his own scars with him.

As the credits roll, there is an intrinsic sadness within Akilla’s Escape that lingers. Though the film offers hope to its characters, this is a piece that shows the tragedy of generational pain and its affect on the future. As such, though Akilla’s past may be something he wishes he could forget, this is definitely a story worth remembering.

Akilla’s Escape is currently streaming on the TIFF Bell Digital Theatre as part of the Planet Africa series during the Toronto International Film Festival. 

To hear our conversation with Saul Williams, Thamela Mpumlwana, Donisha Prendergast, click here.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: 3D, Planet Africa, Ronnie Rowe, Saul Williams, Thamela Mpumlwana, TIFF20

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare in Modern L.A.

June 13, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most performed of Shakespeare’s plays. I’ve certainly seen it frequently both on stage and on film. Each production has its own unique vision of how to bring together the world of real life and fantasy as well as bridging the gap between the fifteenth century and the modern world.

The latest film, adapted and directed by Casey Wilder Mott, sets the play in current day Los Angeles (although rather than a “Hollywood” the hillside sign reads “Athens”). The language is still the iambic pentameter from the play, which often seems a bit disjointed when spoken, say, at a café in Echo Park. But that disjointedness is intentional, seeking to remind us that this is a story that takes place between worlds.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it involves three intersecting stories. The first is a four-way love story. Lysander (Hamish Linklater) and Hermia (Rachael Leigh Cook) are in love. However, Demetrius (Finn Wittrock) also seeks to marry Hermia, and has her father’s favor. When Lysander and Hermia decide to leave Athens so they can be together, Helena (Lily Rabe), who is in love with Demetrius, passes word to him, hoping to win his love. When Demetrius chases after them and Helena chases after Demetrius, they four end up in a forest at night. (Hold that thought.)

The second group is the woodland faeries (here, more beach bums). The first we meet is the mischievous Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck (Avan Jogia), who serves the faerie king Oberon (Saul Williams). Oberon’s wife Titania (Mia Doi Todd) is being contrary. So Oberon dispatches Puck to bring a magical flower that causes people to fall in love with the first person they see. (You see where this is going, don’t you?). Oberon plans on punishing Titania by having her fall in love with someone strange.

That brings us to the third group, a troupe of inept actors led by Quince (Charity Wakefield) making a film about a tragic story. The lead actor, Bottom (Fran Kranz), believes himself the greatest actor ever and should perform all the parts. Seeing the actors rehearsing in the forest, Puck transforms Bottom, giving him the head of an ass. (Although, in this version, we aren’t talking about a donkey.)

Puck ends up putting the drops in both Demetrius and Lysander’s eyes, making them both fall in love with Helena. Now no one wants Hermia.  Helena spurns them all, thinking they are making fun of her. Meanwhile, Titania spends an amorous night with Bottom. In time all is set right and everyone ends up with who they should be with.

This is a decent adaptation and abridgment of the play. (Bear in mind that purists will rarely be happy with adapting the Bard.) Early on, there are several little quotes from other Shakespearean plays around the edges, to provide Easter eggs for Shakespeare fans. As the play moves on, it stays more with the original story. The juxtaposition of modern L.A. for ancient Athens works most of the time, but there are some anachronisms that crop up. For example, Hermia’s father’s claim that she is his property to dispose of as he likes—hardly fitting for a #MeToo world. Overall, for those familiar with the play it’s a nice way to revisit it. For those who haven’t seen it before, it can serve as an introduction.

Photos courtesy of Greg Smith

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Avan Jogia, Casey Wilder Mott, Charity Wakefield, comedy, Finn Wittrock, Fran Kranz, Hamish Linklater, Lily Rabe, Mia Doi Todd, Rachael Leigh Cook, Saul Williams, Shakespeare

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