An up-and-coming filmmaker returns home to Washington DC, intending to do research for a script on the street where he once lived, only to discover that the past is gone and for some there is no backtracking possible. In a year when most cinemas have been closed, and film festivals have been variously limited, canceled or moved online, it's easy for a quality film to slip under the radar. We hope that won't be the case here: Residue is writer-director Merawi Gerima 's feature debut , and marks the start of what looks to be, and deserves to be, a remarkable directorial career.
Gerima 's film revolves around Jay (Obi Nwachukwu), a black man who grew up in suburban Washington before going to college in California. He returned to his old neighborhood to turn his childhood memories into a feature film script, only to find the once-familiar streets were gentrifying and being reimagined by an influx of wealthy white couples. Some of his friends still live there. Others are incarcerated in prison. One childhood friend in particular has gone missing, but no one wants to tell Jay exactly where he went. Residue is an exceptional drama. Gerimahas developed a story of modest scope but full of emotion and resonance. The performances are wonderfully natural and presented in a striking and authentic way. The film is rich in nostalgia and melancholy: an entire black community is disappearing, replaced by an even wealthier suburb. All the houses on the street are gutted and remodeled one by one, replacing Jay's childhood world with something new, unfamiliar and very unwelcoming. Jay wishes to capture the past in a storyline, but all around him are signs that the past is simply cursed to be erased. Obi Nwachukwu is a terrific lead actor, as are the supporting cast, including Dennis Lindsey as his childhood friend Delonte and Taline Stewart as Blue,
Behind the gates of the past.
If the performances are naturalistic, the staging is surprisingly unrealistic. Memory and reality blend from one scene to another. People from the past converse with people from the present. In a stunning sequence, Jay visits one of his childhood friends in prison (Jamal Graham). Their conversation takes place in a drab room, separated by a window. On screen, they walk through a forest they visited together as children. This visual representation of memory, tinged with both affection and regret, transforms direct drama into something lively and lyrical. Mark Jeevaratnam's photography is awash with light and beautiful texture, filtering flashbacks with an old, faded look of faded browns and oranges.
It is an effective, particular and very mature cinematographic work. For a full-fledged movie, it's hugely impressive. As a director's first film, it is truly a marvel.
Residue in cinemas on January 5, 2022.
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