What was interesting is that this film begins as one thing and diverts into another. It does so rather seamlessly. It has a strong protagonist who believably pulls us through each type or each genre, as he sits or stands comfortably in both. Of the two types of films here, the second or latter one probably gets short shrift and is rushed in perhaps too quick a fashion. However, writer-director Chiwetel Ejiofor, adapting the work of Jeff Hobbs, does a great job of balancing so that one film flows into the other as smoothly as the water washing upon a beach.
Ejiofor (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and 12 Years a Slave) stars as Robert Douglas, a man living in East Orange, New Jersey, a predominantly African American area and now a highly impoverished neighborhood. It's revealed that he's a drug dealer. He certainly doesn't come across as any kind of gangster or tough guy, dominating the streets. We're introduced to him, arriving to pick up his 7-year-old son in 1987. We also see Robert spending time with an elderly man, as he listens to a ball game on the radio, while sitting on a front stoop. It's meant to be a shock when we learn that Robert's been arrested, charged and convicted of a double murder.
Jay Will (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Tulsa King) co-stars as Robert DeShaun Peace, the son of Robert Douglas. His nickname is "Shaun," as not to be confused with his father who has the same first name. Being confused for his father becomes a rather ironic idea, given how similar Shaun and his father are. Will portrays the character of Shaun from his teenage years into his late 20's, specifically till the age of 30. What we learn is that most of that time is consumed with Shaun's obsession over his father's case and ultimately proving his father's innocence.
This reveals what the first type of film this is. It starts as a kind of legal drama, much in the vein of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) or Erin Brockovich (2000) or even the more recent Just Mercy (2019). Shaun literally has a file folder with legal paperwork from his father's trial. He pours over the evidence and testimony. He later speaks to his father, visiting him numerous times in prison, in a way that demonstrates Shaun has a lot of legal knowledge. This leads us to believe this whole film will end in a courtroom somewhere.
Mary J. Blige (Mudbound and Rock of Ages) also co-stars as Jackie Peace, the single mother to Shaun. She has no other children. She mainly works multiple jobs to support her son and her elderly mother. A lot of her focus isn't just about feeding and housing them. A lot of her focus is also getting her son out of poverty and out of the so-called ghetto. Her money goes to sending Shaun to a prep school in Newark where he studies chemistry and plays sports like water polo, which are not things to which most African American children get access. Jackie wants her son to have access to these things because her hope is to get him into an Ivy League school, like Yale University.
Unfortunately, as Jackie is trying to provide him a better life, Shaun is constantly drawn backward to his father's case and obsessing over trying to solve it. Shaun wants to get his father out of prison. That obsession interferes with his education and many of his other pursuits. In a lot of ways, this film is about how that obsession or any obsession can be harmful or damaging. Ejiofor's film offers an interesting conflict because Shaun believes his father is innocent, so the alternative is doing nothing and letting him rot in prison. For Shaun, he loves his father, so how can he simply let him rot and do nothing to help? It's a compelling drama. Things are complicated because Jackie puts doubt in Shaun's mind over whether his father is innocent or not.
Camila Cabello (Trolls Band Together and Cinderella) plays Naya, a student at Yale University that Shaun meets. She's part of the small group of minorities attending that school. She's obviously impressed with his brilliance and dedication. She's also the one who recognizes his obsession and how potentially damaging it is. She points out that Shaun feels a responsibility to solve his father's case that perhaps goes past a healthy sense. She detects that he's going too far. The question is how far is too far.
This leads or sets up what the second type of film this is, or where it goes. Actually, the second type isn't like a film, as it is like a TV series. It's not necessarily similar in structure or form, but, thematically, there are a lot of similar things to Breaking Bad (2008). Like Walter White, Shaun becomes a teacher with a specialty in chemistry. Like Walter White, Shaun learns of a medical scare that motivates him to do whatever he can to make money to secure a future for those he loves, even if it won't ultimately involve him. It might be a strange thing to go from Atticus Finch or Erin Brockovich to Walter White, but Ejiofor's film walks that line. I was always compelled and it becomes anchored by Jay Will who gives an engaging performance. He's the true takeaway and definitely a movie star in the making.
Rated R for drug content and language.
Running Time: 2 hrs.
In theaters.