Toronto review: “On The Come Up” by Sanaa Lathan

increasing Directed by actress Sanaa Lathan and screenwriter Kay Oyegun is based on the book by acclaimed author Angie Thomas (The hate you give). The film explores many aspects of black girls through hip-hop music and the music industry in general. The novel is 464 pages long and the film tries to squeeze all that information into two hours, which sometimes obscures the message. But what works is that it speaks to an often overlooked demographic and a rap culture that is rarely explored from a female perspective.

The film opens with Bree (Jamila Gray) leaving her drug addict mother, Jay (Lathan). The memory of her haunts her throughout her adolescence until the age of 16. She also mourns the death of her father, a former rapper named Law of Garden Heights. She wants to be her father and attends The Ring, a place she calls “Rap Hunger Games” where lyricists compete for cash prizes. Aunt Pooh (Dwayne Joey Randolph), who is still involved in the gang’s life, runs it as something of a manager. Brie stifles her first attempt at a fight in the ring. However, she eventually wins her over and quickly becomes a local celebrity.

2022 Toronto Film Festival Photo Gallery

Now he lives with his mother. Jay is sober and works hard to get the job done. At school, Bree sells M & Ms and Skittles to earn pocket money, but a meeting with school officials turns into suspicion and they think she’s dealing drugs. When the police ask him to search his bag, he resists and is subsequently thrown to the ground with excessive force and expelled from the school.

embark aft Bree finds excuses as to why her career isn’t going any faster and Bree loses faith in her aunt’s ability to handle it. She ends up making contact with Supreme (Cliff “Method Man” Smith), who promises him studio time, fame, and more money than she could have imagined. On her journey to the Supreme, she learns the price of selling a soul and that not all money is good.

thematically, Let’s go upstairs He says many things at once. There are hints of race, gender, racism and misogyny and not enough time is given for each of these elements to explore. The film plays as a race against time to run out of time. But life as a black girl / woman is all at once, right? All of this will happen at least once in a lifetime. Seeing more exploration of women in the music industry would have made the film stronger, but the script doesn’t do enough to get the message across.

The Toronto Film Festival opening night is limited to digital ticketing; Queen Elizabeth II was remembered before the premiere of “Swimmers”.

How strange that there aren’t many positive influences of black women in Bree’s story. Sure, they’re all good people, but her mother is a recovering addict who is struggling financially. Her aunt is still involved in gang business and another woman who later fought against rap is considered the factory of the fake and fake Barbie doll industry. I haven’t read the book, so it’s unclear if this is an aspect that was missing, or if it’s not even the book. Either way, Angie Thomas’ stories always provide a window into the black girl’s experience. Working with Oyegun is a good partnership because she knows how to talk to a young black demographic.

Let’s go upstairs It has an old school quality to the shooting style and aesthetics. John Singleton and the Hughes brothers clearly influenced Lathan’s direction. He balances this with vulnerable and honest acting. This is her best work. Randolph should be on Hollywood’s A-list, and it’s a shame he isn’t now.

Young women need to protect themselves from those who see their talent as a profit and force them to play a character who doesn’t match who they really are. but Let’s go upstairs The downside is that it has such a high volume that it is impossible to reject messages here.