A Thousand and One (2023) Focus/Drama RT: 116 minutes Rated R (language) Director: A.V. Rockwell Screenplay: A.V. Rockwell Music: Gary Gunn Cinematography: Eric K. Yue Release date: March 31, 2023 (US) Cast: Teyana Taylor, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, Josiah Cross, William Catlett, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, Adriane Lenox, Gavin Schlosser, Jolly Swag, Azza El, Alicia Pilgrim, Jennean Farmer.
Rating: ***
I made some bad choices last week. By way of keeping my schedule manageable, I had to pick and choose what I saw at the cinema. I chose to see the Biblical bore His Only Son and the disappointing musical biopic Spinning Gold over the Grand Jury Prize-winning drama A Thousand and One, vowing to see it if my local multiplex held it over a second week. They did and I did. Guess what? That’s the movie I should have selected. It’s very good. It’s almost great, but it’s marred by an unnecessary 11th hour plot twist. While not catastrophic, it does strain credulity a bit.
Family is complicated; it’s one of life’s truths. It’s even more so if Family Services is involved in some way. 22YO Inez (a brilliant Teyana Taylor) has just been released from Riker’s Island and wants to get her life back on track. Unfortunately, her 6YO son Terry is in foster care meaning she’ll have to jump through hoops to regain custody. When a supposed accident at his foster home puts the boy in the hospital, Inez decides to circumvent the system and take matters into her own hands. She takes him away to Harlem to start a new life under a new name, warning him not to tell anybody anything about himself. This is how they live for next 11 years.
Written and directed by A.V. Rockwell, making a memorable feature film debut, A Thousand and One is less a thriller about a lawbreaker waiting for somebody to discover her secret than a drama about a mother’s love for her child. Inez may be rough around the edges and prone to make bad choices, but she always makes Terry (now known as Daryl) her top priority. No matter what her circumstances, she can do a better job raising him than an uncaring government agency. She wants the best for him. When the opportunity arises for him to attend a better school, she threatens to kick him to the curb if he doesn’t take advantage. This is one tough mama!
In a stroke of pure genius, A Thousand and One plays out against a changing New York starting in 1994 when Mayor Giuliani announced his intention to clean up the city. We watch as Harlem is gentrified over the years, the old making way for the new, much of the time forcibly. After living in the same apartment for 10 years, a new landlord shows up at the door with promises of improvements to be made. Yeah, we know that’s all kind of BS. As things change around them, Inez tries to hold Terry close even while he pulls away to grow into manhood.
Taylor delivers a powerful performance as Inez, a young woman who’s already been through a lot in her life. She too is a product of the foster care system and considering how she ended up, she doesn’t want the same for her son. What’s really great is how natural her performance is. There’s nothing measured, rehearsed or blocked. She acts in the moment. In doing that, she becomes her character. We, in turn, believe Inez is a real person in real time. It’s truly an amazing performance.
Three different actors play Terry at different ages- Aaron Kingsley Adetola at age 6, Aven Courtney at 13 and Josiah Cross at 17. Their performances are all terrific. More than that, they’re seamless. William Catlett (The Devil You Know) does great work as Lucky, the man Inez marries to be a father to Terry. He knows their secret and urges her to be up front with the boy before he finds out on his own. He’s not perfect by any means (he’s a serial cheater), but he genuinely cares about the boy.
A Thousand and One has a gritty, boots on the ground look to it with Rockwell’s willingness to go to some unattractive places, both geographically and emotionally. The unpolished cinematography by Eric K. Yue makes you feel like you’re watching an indie film from the 90s. The music by Gary Gunn underscores the dramatic elements. You actually come to feel for the central characters.
Like I said, it’s the final plot twist that holds A Thousand and One back. I’m not sure why Rockwell felt it necessary to do that. It takes the viewer out of the realism and into melodramatic territory. It’s the one misstep in an otherwise fine drama featuring a star-making performance from Taylor. She alone makes A Thousand and One a worthwhile viewing experience. The rest of it is good, but she is the stand out here.
