Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Carey Williams, Amazon Studios.
Predictability goes out the door with this Sundance prize-winning movie directed by Carey Williams (Cherry Waves, R#J). Ready for a night of legendary partying, three college students must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an unexpected situation.
Buddies Sean and Kunle (RJ Cyler and Donald Elise Watkins) briefly stop at their apartment only to come across a young white female student Emma (Maddie Nichols) passed out on their living room floor. Along with their other roommate, video-game obsessed stoner Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), they have no idea how she got into their house.
Nevertheless, they agree not to call police for fear of being implicated in whatever happened. They attempt to get her to the hospital, deciding to drive her to a nearby emergency room. However, even that idea doesn’t go according to plan. These men are now compromised, even if they have done nothing wrong.
The movie is aided by two first-rate lead performances and a screenplay that hones in on the similarities and differences inherent in Sean and Kunle’s relationship. Sprinkled with sets that are unremittingly dynamic, the ingenious use of humour, sees the film finish with a powerful close-up.
How is it that upright but hapless people, trying to get out of a serious situation, only end up in circumstances that go from bad to worse?
Emergency is an impishly entertaining film. It’s also about issues that plague minorities and also examines the hierarchies within the black community. It isn’t afraid to hone in on the humour and horror apparent in a university setting.
There’s a complicated tone to expanding Emergency: a feature-length adaptation of Williams and K.D. Dávila’s 2018 short film of the same name. The fine thing about this film is its inclination to let a scene draw breath and play out at length.
- Emergency is streaming on Amazon Prime
