The directorial debut from actor Mo McRae isn’t a traditional thriller about racism. In fact, the opening scene of A Lot of Nothing is more dramatic than it is exciting or suspenseful. Here the two main characters, affluent and successful couple James and Vanessa (Y’Ian Noel and Cleopatra Coleman), are watching an evening news segment about a local police incident; a Black child was reportedly killed by a white officer. The protagonists then enter a heated argument — really just verbal foreplay set to funky background music — after realizing the cop in question is their neighbor Brian (Justin Hartley).
A Lot of Nothing is described as a satirical thriller, but the longer the movie goes on, that description becomes less and less accurate. The closest thing to satire occurs when James and Vanessa go to their respective jobs the next day; he’s a corporate lawyer and she works in finances. They each have their individual as well as shared issues with their predominantly white and male colleagues, though Vanessa is the one more likely to express herself, albeit passive-aggressively. James, on the other hand, represses his resentment and hides behind rationale and legalese.
The movie briefly enters thriller territory once Vanessa confronts their neighbor next door. She takes her frustrations out on Brian, and in return the disgraced cop is threatening. He also makes a racist remark, which Vanessa reports to her husband. Things escalate as James talks to Brian, and before you know it, the cop is held at gunpoint in the couple’s garage. To make matters more complicated, James’ brother Jamal (Shamier Anderson) and his pregnant fiancée Candy (Lex Scott Davis) show up for a scheduled dinner that same night. James and Vanessa, as to be expected, do a poor job of concealing the secret in their garage.
The setup of McRae and co-writer Sarah Kelly Kaplan’s movie has potential, but much like James and Vanessa’s improvised abduction plan, the story unravels. The threat of the most urgent situation is deescalated far too soon; more time is spent distracting Jamal and Candy than with Brian, who’s out of sight and bound to a lawn chair. Meanwhile, the two occupationally disparate siblings trade dulled barbs while Vanessa makes no attempt to play nice with Candy, a vegan and conservationist.
A Lot of Nothing has a real identity crisis on its hands — is it a social thriller about neighbors, or is it a dramedy about two vastly different couples and their misunderstandings? McRae thinks both can coexist in the same space, yet the audience only ends up with tonal whiplash. One second this is a tense and racially charged suspense story, and the next it’s a sentimental tale of accepting hard truths. Strangely there is little to no overlapping of the two plots, even when Jamal and Candy get involved in James and Vanessa’s predicament.
If there’s anything that A Lot of Nothing does well and without confusion, it’s the acting. Noel and Coleman are as talented as they are flexible, and they mete out equally strong performances in both sides of this incoherent movie. Hartley doesn’t have as much to work with here, on account of how underused he is, but he plays enigmatic and standoffish well. If only the three leads had more substantial and longer scenes together; it feels like a wasted opportunity to not let them be the only characters in the story.
A Lot of Nothing makes a good first impression in that first act, but it abandons ship way sooner than anticipated. McRae, who shows promise as a filmmaker, simply did too much on his first run. He doesn’t have to play things straight; a sardonic thriller can work so long as the direction stays steady and focused. Had the movie taken a simpler and consistent approach to its complex topic, it might have been more effective.
A Lot of Nothing is now playing in select theaters, and is also available on VOD and at digital retailers.
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