A Lot of Nothing

A Lot of Nothing

Mo McRae’s initial feature as a director is a partly satirical hostage thriller that goes completely off the rails. “A Lot of Nothing” deals with topics near and dear to Black Americans, namely police killings of unarmed people, still an ever-relevant subject. James (Y’lan Noel) and Vanessa (Cleopatra Coleman) are rich African American spouses who upon learning a white cop living next door killed a kid stage their own perverse citizen’s arrest.

But when James’ brother Jamal (Shamier Anderson) and pregnant wife Candy (Lex Scott Davis) drop by for dinner, they get sucked into the plan, becoming active participants in the hostage situation.

If nothing else can be said about this film of McRae’s: it sure is audacious. To have such softness at its core for your debut requires confidence indeed, which the picture’s stylistic side more than matches even if the content seldom does. The no holds barred approach of both characters and film is underlined by creative camerawork and a jazzy score that thumps along throughout. McRae directs boldly, with some actiony sequences leaning hard into comedy; it recalls soapy early aughts cops on TV dramas.

Microaggressions in the workplace, code-switching, colorism and intracommunity respectability politics play out in one liners or thrown-away scenes. James and Vanessa are class-foils to Jamal and Candy, profession foils too, right on down to their names’ “whiteness.” These differences drive wedges between them all but the script never supports any depth on these subjects nor does it realize any of these characters as actual people.

“Nothing” is a script full of catchphrases without a thesis. The characters are written as temporary sounding boards for the film’s supposed smartness but don’t actually provide them with any reasons or layers. Instead, they’re archetypes, and basic ones at that. The lead performances are weak, but Anderson’s one-liners nail comic relief and Davis’ emotional moments land true. However, the script is too focused on Noel and Coleman, who have no chemistry together. For many beats Coleman’s overacting is an accessory to the film’s satirical nature, but toward the end of its runtime that gets old.

As they navigate through a night of taking hostages from hell, Black emotional fatigue and their own interpersonal beefs, the tone never changes. The spectrum of energy stays stuck on high and betrays the movie’s attempt to say anything serious at all. Satire often pushes things to 11; “Nothing” doesn’t fully commit to the bit especially as it barrels into its twisty third act, where it loses control of its creativity and shreds loyalty to itself.

“Nothing” takes a fraction of a stance on how Black people are socially caricatured and systemically discriminated against in this country. So when it reveals itself and talks about it, the movie spins every assumption of intention into obscurity. The thematic integrity dissolves by then completely muddying what it wants to say about race x social capital intersectionality while boasting shallowness cleverness in tone x freefalling characters emotionally during.

McRae’s film feels patronizing + quick-tongued in its writing; maybe not intentionally so? Perhaps an earnest though misguided switch (that confounds the movie altogether) was thoughtful devil’s advocacy disguised as All Lives Matter condescension? None of these themes are explored with depth meaningfully but they’re at least acknowledged.

“A Lot of Nothing” shows true promise in McRae’s direction and artistic capabilities. His confidence in visual creativity as well as a present though half-baked ability to juggle complex themes amid quippy banter must be praised. But “A Lot of Nothing” is unsatisfying a poor scripted proclamation of confusion.

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