17.8.23
In her directorial debut, it’s hard to gauge whether A.V. Rockwell loves New York City or hates it to the core. Her impressive feature, A Thousand and One, is a poetic urban commentary of a city that is too often romanticised or simplified, and not always truthfully depicted. Rockwell delivers an authentic portrait of life in 1990s Harlem that reflects an affection for black culture and state policy disillusionment in equal measures.
Through the eyes of Inez, played with grit and toughness by Teyana Taylor, we witness the complex push and pull of her relationship with the city she calls home. Though she dreams of a fresh start after prison, the draws of drugs, crime, and unreliable partners continue to ensnare her. Much like Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, the film utilises a three-pronged structure to intimately explore Inez’s journey at three pivotal points in her life, in satellite with her son Terry and love interest Lucky.
At its core, A Thousand and One is a reflection on how our environments shape us, but also how the ones we love are the ones who can hurt us the most. Inez’s complicated relationship with Harlem mirrors the complexities of family – full of frustration and heartache but bonded by deep, unbreakable love. Anchored by Taylor’s moving lead performance, the film I think heralds the arrival of a bold new cinematic voice in Rockwell. Her lyrical ode to the city she knows so intimately resonates with raw truth and glimmers of the soul of America’s black working class.