'Night Catches Us' review

Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington (Credit: Magnolia)

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["Night Catches Us" premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The following is an excerpt from Metromix's coverage of the festival.]

Writer-director Tanya Hamilton’s debut “Night Catches Us” was one of several strong titles from female directors at this year's Sundance film festival (including “The Kids Are All Right,”  “Please Give,” “Winter’s Bone” and “The Freebie”). Set in the mid-‘70s, after the peak of the Black Panther movement, “Night” follows Marcus Washington (Anthony Mackie) who returns to Philadelphia and reunites with Patricia (Kerry Washington), an important woman from his past.

Hamilton conjures the period in vivid detail—an important time from African-American history that hasn’t been overdone on film. Mackie and Washington—two of the best young actors working today—are exceptional, especially when they get a chance to share the screen. And Jamara Griffin makes a strong impression as Washington’s inquisitive daughter, who discovers that the new mystery man on the scene knows some important details about her late father, a dedicated member of the Panther party. “Night,” which was shot in only 18 days, doesn’t feel quite fully formed, but suggests Hamilton deserves more chances to share her vision in the future.

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