Another police shooting. Another dead boy. An affluent black couple feels the sting as they watch the news. What does one do in the face of injustice? Doesn’t someone need to stand up and do something?
In A Lot of Nothing, Vanessa (Cleopatra Coleman) and James (Y’lan Noel) struggle with these very questions. They feel the urgency in their bones, not only because of the trove of young, black men who have died at the hands of the police, but especially when they learn the cop is their next door neighbor.
The film starts as an exploration of what “making it” in the corporate world takes for these two. Both accomplished, but very much in control, but the constant subtly overt comments and actions of their coworkers are slowly wearing them down. They drown their sorrows in the trappings of modern life: a gorgeous house, nice cars, a Peloton. In a consumerist society, it should all be “enough” but never is. Vanessa especially can’t let go of the fact that the officer from the news is next door, living free. Her confrontation with him and its aftermath play out through the rest of the film with life-changing results.
Thrown into the mix are James’s brother Jamal (Shamier Anderson) and his pregnant fiancé Candy (Lex Scott Davis). He’s the rough, conscious version opposite of James’s cool, calculating lawyer, and she’s a hippie concerned with all things crystals and chakras. The dinner these four have planned is an oil-and-water affair that deepens as the night goes on.
While some of the decisions the characters make seem forced as a way to move the plot forward, director Mo McRae accomplishes things in his first feature that bode very well for a fantastic career behind the camera. For example, the opening scene in which James and Vanessa hear the news of the shooting and start to plan their response was done in one extended take. It highlights the acting craft of both Noel and Coleman but also builds a sense of dramatic urgency that carries through the entire film.
As matters build to their ultimate conclusion, A Lot of Nothing branches out into much more than just race and policing issues. Marital strife, complex family dynamics, and even gentrification and inequality are added to the mix. McRae leaves the audience with a clear sense that nothing is as simple as it seems or we’d like it to be.
A Lot of Nothing
Narrative Feature Competition, World PremiereFriday, March 18, 3:30pm, Alamo Lamar
This article appears in Guide to SXSW 2022.