"Night Catches Us" is a movie written and directed by Tanya Hamilton. It seeks to tell the story of a Philadelphia neighborhood and how it was shattered by the police killing of a Black Panther Party member. The movie takes place in 1976 where we see Marcus Washington (Anthony Mackie) returning home to a cold welcome for his father's funeral. There are those who are angry with him for running away, and those who are angry with him for being a snitch. Nothing is really clear to begin with though it becomes a little clearer later on. He's at odds with Dwayne Miller (Jamie Hector) over "snitching," and he's at odds with his brother Bostic (Tariq Trotter) and his secret flame Patricia (Kerry Washington) over disappearing. By the end we find out why he was labeled a snitch and why he disappeared.
This movie suffered from a weak script and an uncompelling plot. It's not a good thing when the best parts of your movie are archive footage and photos. It looked as if Tanya Hamilton was attempting to pay a tribute to the Black Panther Party, but she did the complete opposite. What we saw from ex-members and current wannabes was an organization that left people broken and confused. It was like all ex-members and allies were directionless without the Party, kind of like this movie. As if the legacy of the Party was poor, angry Black folks who were destined to remain poor and angry.
The movie attempted to be deep and poignant with the partial conversations and emotional pleas, but it never got past the surface of what the Party meant and what they were about. "Night Catches Us" may have been about a prodigal son returning, but he and all of the other characters were so hollow. There was nothing to them except that they were Black, had a connection to the Party, and had a death hanging over them of one of their members years ago.
It's hard to say just what Hamilton intended with this movie. She got quality actors in Mackie, Washington, and Hector, but that only takes you so far. Given the subject matter this movie could've been, and should've been so much better.
