Misty Green LFF review: Brilliant showcase for Rosalind Eleazar
After a 12-year break since his previous directorial effort, Top Five, Chris Rock is back with Misty Green, which he wrote, directed, produced and stars in.
The film follows Misty Green (Rosalind Eleazar), a troubled actress who was once famous for a TV show called Red Eye. After burning bridges and earning a reputation for being unreliable, she is now a working-class actor, auditioning and living paycheck to paycheck. She also has more expenses than most – she is a drink and drug addict who loves to party and is also paying for her brother Jay (Daniel Kaluuya) to receive inpatient treatment for his mental health condition.
When the film opens, she is in a desperate place – after living in her sugar daddy’s apartment rent-free for years, she is evicted by his widow and given a week to find somewhere new to live. But she doesn’t have any money – she spent it all on drink and drugs – and so she has to find work, fast. She is forced to audition for the most stereotypical, poorly written Black roles, ones that are way beneath her. And if that wasn’t enough, her volatile brother is released from his facility because she hasn’t been able to pay, so now she has to take care of him too.
I hope Eleazar becomes a bigger star off the back of this. The Slow Horses actress gives a realistic, grounded performance and does her best to make you understand Misty’s questionable decisions. Her life is a mess and she doesn’t help herself, self-sabotaging at every turn. She has the talent for bigger, better parts, but there’s no goodwill towards her. She would be the perfect fit for Deena in a Dreamgirls reboot, but director Jordan (Rock) and casting director Rhonda (Tracie Thoms) both have bad experiences with her. Does she deserve a second chance?
Rock’s script is funny and well-written, and he has a lot to say about the movie business plus the juxtaposition of the glitz and glamour of LA and the city’s homelessness problem. He also assembled a solid supporting cast around Eleazar, including Adam Driver as a sleazy associate offering Misty dodgy jobs, Anna Kendrick as her best friend who’s settling in her relationship, and Topher Grace as her exasperated agent.
Misty Green is a compelling and sometimes shocking, dark and unpredictable drama about a troubled star who can’t escape her downward spiral.
Seen at the London Film Festival. In cinemas now