A Lot of Nothing

Mo McRae's directorial debut "A Lot of Nothing" tackles a sensitive and relevant topic - police killings of unarmed victims in the Black community. The film follows James and Vanessa, a wealthy Black couple, who perform their own twisted citizen's arrest after learning that their white neighbor and cop killed a kid. The film is audacious and creative in its cinematography and musical score. However, it falls short in its writing, as the characters are poorly developed and serve as mere soundboards for the film's proposed intelligence. The film's themes are not explored with meaningful depth, and the big reveal leaves the film's stance on race and social capital muddled. Despite its weaknesses, McRae shows promise in his direction and artistic capabilities.

Its a movie that made me think seriously to sue the responsible people of making this movie happen for wasting my worthless time, im sad and disgusted by how the movie was made, they tried everything and they failed at literally all of them. The story telling was mushed, scattered and randomised, its lile inwas watching clips of a regular movie. And dont even think of a proper plot in it. If i hired 3 Mexican construction workers, they would've done a better job ay writing a better movie. Im giving it 2 just cuz the beginning of the movie was promising, but then everything spiralled, downward. It hit rock-bottom and kept on going down. Some lies that my alcoholic friend tells me are more interesting than this movie. I just wish that never watched it, i want my time back.

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.

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.

This movie was the worst thing to reach cinema or even make it out of production. I think this movie would have been better if they had killed the "antagonist" in the beginning. This movie had no point. There was no meaning to the man's death and if anything his death and the movie was told the wrong way and the worst way. AI could do better heck even a child just scribbling could have done better. This movie like this director and production meant nothing. I'm glad the actors and staff were paid because I wish I was. Watching this movie was like breaking a bone and a doctor saying let's break it again because we messed up. While watching this movie I had a nail removed from my foot and honesty I would rather the nail get put back into my foot so that no one has to watch this total waste of time and thought. The only good point about this movie is that I know when I see the director or producers name I know any future movies by them will just be a waste of time and hard earned money.