Test Pattern

“One evening, Renesha’s friend Amber gives her a call as asks her to join her for a drink down at the social club. Renesha wants Even to join them, but he’s tired, and suggest she go have some girl time. She leaves a little reluctantly, and joins Amber, who is ready to partay! When the pair are approached by a couple of young men who just sold their Internet start-up and are wanting to celebrate, Renesha is clear that she’s in a committed relationship, but they four do start to enjoy themselves after Amber pressures Renesha into staying, hanging and having a good time.

“All of that is mainly set-up for the main thrust of the film, which sees Renesha and Evan going to the Emergency Room to find a rape kit and report a sexual assault. In a sequence of events that play out like a horror film, the pair are shuttled all over the city trying to find a rape kit and someone who can adiminster it, all while their relationship undergoes some intense testing. Without going into details, let’s just say that the film doesn’t end on a high note, but one that ponders the social injustices around gender and race and the how easily a trauma can upend a life or lives.

“Shatara Michelle Ford’s directorial debut, also written by her, navigates this excruciating experience with agonizing patience that results in a  slow-burn drama filled with unspoken pain. Unspoken perhaps, but not invisible, as the body language of the two leads, particularly Brittany S. Hall’s Renesha is exquisitely displayed and tells a story that makes words unnecessary. Ford and Will Brill do a really great job with Evan as well, making him sensitive and loving, but also susceptible to the systemic racism and ingrained sexism that many straight, white men face. He’s a sympathetic character just trying to do do the right thing for the woman he loves, but can’t help stumbling in hurtful ways. Ford also plays with time, inserting a scenes about 3/4 of the way through the film that makes you pause to place it in it’s proper moment, that illuminates the ongoing storyline to devastating effect. There are interesting parallels between this film and last year’s Chlotrudis Awards Best Movie winner, Eliza Hittman’s NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS in the way it examines the societal and systemic problems with women’s healthcare, particularly for those with less privilege (black women, and underage women). 5 cats”