Vacate the way for Ava DuVernay. Who cares if The Academy, in its lack of wisdom, “snubbed” her for Best Director? That shit matters less every year. I wish I could weigh in on how deserving she was or was not of a nomination, but I still have yet to see Selma. I know. I’m dumb. Having just witnessed an earlier work of hers, however, I am certain of two things.
1. Her apparently brilliant work on Selma was no fluke.
2. I need to see Selma… real bad.
In Middle Of Nowhere (2012), Ms. DuVernay delicately tells a story so small, so perfectly (and in some ways sadly) ordinary and natural, that had it not come to such a satisfying conclusion, we might label it “slice of life.”
Ruby (Amayatzy Corinealdi), a clever med student living in Compton, has been waiting four years for her husband, Derek, to be up for early parole. Coincidentally, the very week the process can begin, Derek (Omari Hardwick) is involved in a small prison riot. From that point on, many unexpected complications arise in Ruby’s life in the form of an attractive bus driver (David Oyelowo), her challenging and aggressive mother, and a friend of Derek’s who may be keeping tabs on her. We watch her daily struggle to hang on to a relationship that she can’t stand to lose, but might also have been the greatest mistake she ever made.
This relatively new director (she shot only one other feature film prior to this one — third time must really be the charm) has one hell of an eye for the camera. Again, I can’t say this single feature can be an indubitable indicator of her talent, but this is a truly gorgeous film. Photographed by the brilliant Bradford Young (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Pariah), the images are vibrant and detailed when they ought to be, and conversely stark and empty when appropriate, as well.
Although the film is simple and small in scope, it is unquestionably cinematic. More than once, Ruby is walking or sleeping alone, when gently, as if in a dream, Derek appears as though he has been by her side the entire time, just out of frame, or well-hidden within. His synthetic appearance took me by surprise every time. Obviously, this is her perspective, her thoughts, bleeding onto the screen, but this daydream also seems to say it is nothing more than a fantasy that Derek could so easily slip back into Ruby’s life.
Perhaps more important than its art, is what feels like a rare and specific depiction of African American living. We watch a smart and complicated woman move through a version of Compton we don’t often see in Hollywood. This isn’t a warzone. The streets aren’t lined with homeless people, or condemned buildings. Ruby isn’t regularly harassed. The film offers a few moments of the less savory aspects of the city, but the point is simply to show us that, like in any city, not every neighborhood is a nightmare. Not every citizen fears for his or her life anytime they walk the street, and of its many citizens, those with whom Ruby comes in contact are real, fully-drawn human beings, not stereotypes or caricatures. This second feature may not be perfect. It is perhaps just a little too slow and understated for its own good, but it is a sure sign of a valuable new artist.
We need this filmmaker.
THE PACKAGE
Excellent feature commentary with Ava DuVernay and Amayatzy Corinealdi.
