FAST COLOR (2018)

7/16/19 - Fast Color (2018) - 5-/10

Conceptually interesting, but a bit formulaic in execution of said idea. Where it strolls into new territory is the familial experience of 3 generations of black women with powers, as told in a languid and oddly soulful way. Despite its positive female approach, it lacked any dynamism or sense of meaningful build up - it just dryly rolled on without dread, excitement or any erupting emotional crescendo. It was consistently decent, with some interesting flickers and flare ups of quality, it just couldn’t sustain the flames necessary for something special.

The generational gift of these women is interesting, and though played out, the government hunting them down could also be. Unfortunately, once this hunt is pushed to the furthest back burner, with no hint of impending doom or agitation, the drama in that story is neutered. It also would have helped to have some flashbacks of those experiences, a deepening understanding of what they want or who they are, and more cat-and-mouse to keep us engaged. It’s too bad that it is kind of dropped.

One element of the story that kept gnawing at me was the fact that this was a near future where rain has stopped falling. We get the hint of things being “bad” and the valuable water being rationed, but society still seems to be chugging along as per usual. We are told it has been years, but other than grocery stores being mostly empty (how are they still open?), nothing has changed. If there was no rain, there would be fundamental changes to every facet of existence, number one being mass extinctions. No water = famine, no crops, breaking down of the food chain, societal collapse, wars, disease, mass migrations, changes in mobility, etc. Suffice it to say, there would be massive changes that need to be accounted for. This would be a whole new world and existence and, despite its meaningfulness for the story, I needed more explanation and execution.

The heart of this film, what drives it, is the women on screen. Mbatha-Raw snags the viewer at the beginning. She is lively and intriguing. That doesn’t sustain till the end, where she becomes passive, with so much of what is happening and what she is displaying. Touissant and Sidney both do well, but nothing extraordinary… In fact, that might be what fails this film overall. Nothing is all that out of the ordinary or special, despite wanting to be a harrowing story about the superiority gifted. It is just kind of there, never poor, with workmanlike directing, cinematography, script, editing, etc. Like the characters on the screen, we keep waiting to see the brilliance of the exceptional. But us lowly normies, we are left in this arid landscape, enjoying our time but parched for lack of what we need to rise above.