Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie Review

Civil rights and wrongs in Philly circa ‘76.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater January 31, 2011

Given that there are relatively few female or African American writer/directors working in Hollywood today, it’s wonderful to see a new movie by a black woman—and even greater that said film doesn’t conform to the typical Tyler Perry comedy mold that has dominated black-centric filmmaking for the past decade. Rather, Night Catches Us, the debut film by Jamaican-born Tanya Hamilton, is a serious slice-of-life drama that explores the uneasy peace that exists in one Philadelphia neighborhood after the dissolution of the Black Panthers in 1976. While it has a focused local scope, the film’s themes are entirely universal; for as keenly as the movie captures the African-American experience in bicentennial-era America, the story could easily be transported to any part of the world where an oppressed community has struggled with the viciously destructive cycle of reactive violence.

Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington

By 1976, the Black Panther Party has collapsed upon itself, unable to reconcile its underlying charitable intentions—feeding neighborhood kids, providing legal aide for the unjustly charged, etc.—with its militant, fight the power, cop-killing public face. The fist raised in defiance has been slowly lowered and former Panther members are returning en masse to life as usual. The atmosphere of the movement lingers, however, in the South Philly community where Night Catches Us is set. Ex-Panther Marcus Washington (Anthony Mackie) has been out of town for some time—traveling around the country as a kind of itinerant handyman, doing odd jobs—and when he comes back for his father’s funeral, he’s not exactly welcome. His brother Bostic (Tariq Trotter), a convert to Islam, can barely stand to look at him, and his former comrade, “DoRight” Miller (The Wire’s Jamie Hector), drops by with vague threats of violence. We begin to understand the situation when a vandal spraypaints “SNITCH” in white lettering across the black Cadillac that Marcus inherited from his father. The whole neighborhood seems to believe that Marcus was responsible for the death of a Panther named Neal—a community leader who was gunned down by cops in his living room—but they don’t have the full story.

Neither do we. Hamilton, who also wrote the script, keeps a satisfyingly tight rein on the puzzle pieces, doling them out to us one at a time. Without giving too much away, Neal’s widow, Patricia (Kerry Washington)—a defense attorney whose life work involves trying to keep local kids out of jail— knows the truth, a truth she can never reveal for her own safety. She and Marcus clearly have unresolved feelings for one another, which redolently hints at the possibility of a David and Bathsheba-type set-up, but Marcus’ intentions are more honorable, if no less complicated. After a fallout with his brother leaves Marcus living in his car under an overpass, Patricia invites him to stay at her home—where the blood stains on the living room wall are covered in wall paper—an arrangement that doesn’t sit well with anyone, least of all her new boyfriend (Ron Simons), a square prosecutor intent on taking Patricia away from the drama and violence of the inner city. Meanwhile, Patricia’s disgruntled can-collector cousin, Jimmy (Amari Cheatom) —a teen who idolized the Panthers but was too young to join up in their heyday—is intent on proving himself through violence against the local cops who still harass the neighborhood’s youth. He’s the spark that should set off the film’s powder keg of a plot.

I say should because the film never explodes like we think it will. Night Catches Us is somewhat anticlimactic, which may confuse or disappoint viewers expecting a battle-in-the-streets showdown or an armed uprising. There’s no glorification here of sticking it to The Man. That simply isn’t the direction that Hamilton wants to take the story. (Which is supposedly based on remembrances from her own childhood. Patricia’s daughter, played by Jamara Griffin, might be seen as an analogue for the director.) Instead, she shows violence for what is—ineffectual, cyclical, and most of all, deeply sad. When bloodshed occurs on either “side,” it’s not overly dramatized, suspenseful, or trumped up; the deaths are quick and senseless. Life moves on. Hamilton isn’t out to blindly lionize the Panthers or demonize the cops—or vice versa—instead, she portrays this era in African-American life as deeply complicated and conflicted. Blacks had won civil rights, but still felt lost in a culture that wasn’t about to give them a hand up. Sanctioned oppression had ended, but de facto racism was still commonplace. The African-American community was frozen between the pacifist ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the stand-up-and-fight ethos of the Black Liberation Army. The movie then, at least in a dramatic narrative sense, feels similarly inert—it doesn’t move toward any rousing conclusion or profound message. It simply is. And I think that’s fine, refreshing even; this is a film where the allure is in the characters and the minutiae of their lives, in the second-hand experience of what it must’ve been like to live through this time period.

For a first-time director, Hamilton has secured a phenomenal cast. Anthony Mackie, most recently seen in The Hurt Locker, deserves to be a major star. He has that rare charismatic quality of being riveting even when he isn’t particularly doing anything on screen. Here, he’s masculine and warm, but seemingly above-it-all, with the thousand-yard-stare of an old soul. Kerry Washington is alluring as well, graceful in her period-perfect blouses and wide-lapeled business blazers. The third main character? A soulful, bass-heavy score by Philadelphia hip-hop all-stars The Roots.

Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot on high definition video, Night Catches Us transfers easily into a 1080p/AVC encode, minus a few—likely source related—quirks. The decision to shoot on video was probably a budgetary constraint rather than an aesthetic choice—film, in my opinion, seems to work better for period dramas—but Hamilton and cinematographer David Tumblety work it well, going for a distinctly realistic, unstylized approach. For the most part, clarity is more than suitably strong. Fine detail is readily visible in the ribbed weft of Marcus' undershirt, the patterns of background brickwork, and the textures of the actors' hair and faces. Color is very natural, although, as is common with many shot-on-video productions, highlights have been graded in post to have a creamier hue so that they're not so starkly white, even when overblown. Black levels are sufficiently deep, but contrast probably could've been boosted just a hair to give the picture some added pop. All in all, though, the image is pleasing on the eyes. That said, there are a few small issues that crop up from time to time, including a few instances of mild aliasing and a tendency toward heavier noise during darker scenes. In one shot of Jimmy hiding by a brick wall in the twilight, you'll notice strange white artifacts popping up and disappearing. They almost look like the flecks of debris you'd see on a film print, but they're clearly digital. Thankfully, this problem is restricted to this one scene.

Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The highlight of the film's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is undoubtedly the all-new score from The Roots, which sounds absolutely fantastic in both content and dynamic quality, with deep, defined bass lines, slick guitar tones, and, of course, Questlove's propulsive, syncopated drumming. (The film also incorporates a number of period tunes, like Syl Johnson's "Is It Because I'm Black?" These sound great as well.) The music is divvied up amongst all 5.1 channels for a truly immersive, head-nodding chill-out listening experience. In all other regards, this is a pretty typical track for a low-budget, character-driven drama. You'll hear an appreciable amount of ambience from the rear channels—street sounds, crickets, birds, some cars driving between speakers—but nothing intense or particularly noteworthy. Dialogue floats buoyantly on top of the mix and never suffers any muffling, crackles, or drop-outs. English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available in easy-to-read white lettering.

Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (1080i, 13:03): There are ten short scenes here, including an alternate opening and two alternate endings.
• Interviews (1080p, 1:16:45): Includes interviews with Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, funk/soul singer William "Darondo" Pulliam, Black Panther artist Emory Douglas, and writer/director/poet/activist/educator Jamal Joseph, who each share their memories of the time period explored in the film.
• Photo Gallery (1080p, 1:53): A short self-playing photo gallery.
• HDNet: A Look at Night Catches Us (1080i, 4:33): A typical HDNet promo, with a general overview of the plot, clips from the film, and an interview with director Tanya Hamilton.

Night Catches Us Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Writer/director Tanya Hamilton is definitely a talent to watch. If you're looking for an honest drama about African-American life—as opposed to, say, one of Tyler Perry's let's-see-how-many-we-can-churn-out-in-a-year comedies—Night Catches Us is a strong choice. Magnolia's Blu-ray release is satisfying as well, with a capable high definition transfer, some interesting interviews in the bonus section, and a terrific lossless audio track that features an original score by The Roots. Recommended.