America
(2009/Sony DVD) + American Son
(2008/Miramax DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+/B- Extras: C-/C+ Features: C+/B-
As jobs
have been shipped overseas and merger-mania has further reduced the
marketplace, early-to-middle American Capitalism that should have just expanded
and expanded turned into late capitalism by design and further hampered
opportunity for millions. For African
American males, it is especially hard, starting with racism and moving on to so
many other problems. Two films recently
looked at the problem in two very different situations and are ironically
titled similarly.
America (2009) is a TV movie about the
title character (Philip Johnson) caught in a cycle of homelessness and bad
foster care. At 16 years old, he is very
smart and a good guy, but his life has not always been good and has been even
ugly, yet he might get some help from a social worker (Rosie O’Donnell, a
co-writer and co-producer on the project) who takes her work very personally
and very seriously.
American Son (2008) has Nick Cannon as a
19-year-old U.S. soldier visiting home for a few days, going back home to the
dead-end neighborhood he grew up in. He
has some friends, but things have changed and there is a sense of detachment,
as well as realization that both worlds (like in say, The Deer Hunter) are opposite ends of the same coin.
They have
about the same 90-minutes running length and speak to the idea that our
brightest and best include many African American males. If they are predictable, it is because the
traps, limits and problems are so obvious and need to be addressed. In the former, the foster care system is a
wreck, in part because this is a society that cannot explicitly take the
initiative to protect children’s rights, especially when it comes to government
policy. Even those serving proudly in
the military do not get the opportunities they deserve when you would think
that would put them in the front of the line.
Though
neither film is able to go beyond their book-like narratives, each are smart
enough, well-intended, well-acted pieces worth your time and
consideration. What they have to say and
show is not going to be changing anytime soon, though having an African
American president might be a starting point to change things. However, there is much work ahead for true
change.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on America
and 1.85 X 1 on Son are evenly
matched as the former is an often soft telefilm, while the latter is an overly
stylized and slightly downgraded presentation.
Some digital work exists in each and neither has any strongly memorable
shots. The Dolby Digital 5.1 on both is
good, but not great, especially the TV movie, which is stretching the sound out
a bit. Both have making of behind the
scenes pieces, but Son also has
deleted scenes with optional commentary by the director, who also does a
feature-length commentary with Producers Danielle Renfrew and Michael Roiff.
- Nicholas Sheffo
