A Lot of Nothing

This movie really was a whole lot of nothing. It talked about any and every thing. Police killings, treatment of women in the workplace, treatment of black men in the workplace, marriage, cheating, lying. There's probably something else I'm missing.

So what was the point? Hypocrisy. At least that's what I got from it.

But let's be honest, this movie could have been a LOT shorter. A smooth 75 minutes would have been more than enough. The big reveal honestly had me going to see who exactly had written and directed this movie. And then I was shocked. I didn't mind watching it once but I definitely wouldn't sit through it again.

A Lot of Nothing is a mostly decent movie with an interesting premise. That premise could have been executed a lot better, but I was still mildly enjoying most of it. My favorite is the character played by Shamier Anderson. And it feels technically well-made.

A few things hold this movie back for me. There are some subplots that seem completely unnecessary and don't fit the rest of the story. I also feel like the story lacks focus with it's themes, partly due to the unnecessary subplots. And when we find out details about the victim late in the movie, I strongly disliked where it went with that.

It's not the worst thing you can do with your time, but this isn't something I'd recommend. (1 viewing, 4/13/2023)

This was a heaping pile of stereotypical nonsense that promotes hate and prejudice.

The movie pretends to portray sophistication and refined class, but devolves to socioeconomic emotional ignorance, driven by the writers bias and bigoted viewpoint.

Watching this movie was just a painful journey of nothingness, really a lot of nothing!

They would have been best suited to portray the wife as bipolar off her meds or some other thing to justify the irrational illogical behavior, but the writing pushed a terrible agenda.

The irony is that the fact the main house is like a mansion, and the next door neighbors house is a shack complete with half eaten food on plates laying around, beer bottles strewn about, late notices lying all around, a laptop open and queued to play porn, and a smoke detector that needed a battery.

Again it just added to the far-fetched fantasy of ridiculousness this movie is.

Steer clear of this hate provoking garbage!

I'm not sure where all those one-star ratings come from. This is an entertaining comedy of errors with an important premise. It has its flaws, but it's well-handled and well worth a little forgiveness. The acting is mostly competent, if not for the male lead. The production value is right up there, and the screenplay does a good job of carrying a number of different approaches to its political premise. I hope the director keeps evolving. I'll certainly watch more from him if he keeps churning them out.

My expectations were low given the ratings, but it's definitely not worthy of those one-star reviews.

A Lot Of Nothing begins with a shot. Vanessa watches the news. Her anger erupts while her husband, James, weary of the world's temperament, and perhaps with his wife's as well, seeks to deflect. But Vanessa wants - demands - that this time something has to be done. Will a Facebook post heavy with MLK quotes settle the matter? Or should an act of violence beget a violent reciprocation?

The first 17 minutes presents a single-shot, two-man performance about confronting, channeling, and ultimately grounding that rage. The remainder of the run time runs through a series of more complicated actions, most of which are heavy with cinematic posturing. However, the entire play hits with modern-day truths that are equally complex.

Written and directed by Mo McRae, A Lot of Nothing shows that James and Vanessa are not entirely wrong. Yet, neither are they completely right. James enjoys his position of power and can masterfully either feign ignorance or fume in silence. Vanessa is all righteous fury until her passions move too quickly and too far out in a place beyond where James' smooth-talking counseling can reach. Brian, the cop, hits all the right cliches, until he doesn't. The movie follows similarly.

Vanessa takes matters into her own hands and confronts Brian. Tensions, of course, escalate. As do actions. Maybe a little too quickly. Perhaps even unbelievably.

A Lot of Nothing is a hard drama with comedic-level misunderstandings about the racial divides and general mistrust that regrettably continue to exist. Mo McRae's movie starts the conversation, asks critical questions, but cannot seem to come up with a satisfying end note.