One Thousand and One Review – Gritty New York Drama Delivers Strong Story Driven Performances

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Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Tuesday, 06 February 2024 10:11

Written by Janet Walker

One Thousand and One, from Focus Features, presents an intense drama of life in Manhattan without a safety net for Inez, a criminal with one strike against her, as she attempts to build a home for her son.

The film opens with an ariel view of Riker’s Island, the largest jail in New York, and then zooms into the cell of a woman, who is practicing her hair and make-up skills on her cell mate. Soon, the women, Inez, played by Teyana Taylor, is out and back on the streets on Manhattan trying to fly straight. It is the 1990s.

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She is looking for her son, Terry, played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, who has been living in foster care. Slowly, she is trying to catch her breath. She is doing hair, which she is very good at, and making change, enough so she doesn’t need to hustle. Then she finds out her son ran from his foster mother and fell out of the window and was in the hospital. She goes to the hospital and asks him if he wants to live with her and she takes him from the hospital.

She manages to tap an old friend, Kim Jones, played by Terri Abney, who is sympathetic and let’s the two of them stay, her mother, Mrs. Jones, played by Delissa Reynolds, doesn’t want her in the house and begins to berate her, and Inez has anger management issues. She isn’t able to process the verbal attacks without escalating into a verbal confrontation, which leads to physical violence. She pushes Mrs. Jones, just as she pushed her buttons to force the confrontation, and the two, Inez and Terry, are once again on the street.

Soon Inez is working the pay phone and coming up empty. Then she sees a room for rent sign. It is the breakthrough she needs, and soon she and Terry have a roof over their heads. And the woman, Miss Annie, played by Adriane Lenox, sends a job her way, and soon, she is employed and puts her dreams aside.

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At this point, the film jumps forward, and it seems as if everything is going well. Inez meets Lucky, played by William Catlett, and they get married. We believe she has left trouble in the past, and the future, like it is for many, is steady, and for the moment calm.

Trouble, of course, is crouching, like a lion, waiting. Soon the film jumps ahead and now Terry, played by Josiah Cross, is a teenager, and at a parent teacher conference we understand, is very smart and invited to test for the specialized high school. He passes, and this means leaving his friends behind. Inez explains it, clearly, “go to the school or find a new place to live.”

Soon he is a senior and choosing Ivy league colleges, his counselor Anita Tucker, played by Amelia Workman, asks him to get his social security card and she’ll get him a job. He doesn’t ask Inez for his social security card; he takes the paperwork without asking.

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Inez’s landlord shows up, Jerry, played by Mark Gessner, a nice guy that promises the world, so he and his crew come in for repairs and intentionally cause damages that make the apartment unlivable, and during this time, Lucky, who has been the rock in her life, is dying from cancer. And after Terry turns in the social security card information, his counselor wants to set up an at home conference.

This sets up an explosive and surprising ending. One Thousand and One, a gripping and compelling contemporary drama, about life without a safety net. The ensemble cast, led by Teyana Taylor, command the screen with staggering and extraordinary story driven performances.

Sundance Grand Jury Prize, the cast of One Thousand and One, and Director A.V. Rockwell, have been nominated for a 2024 DGA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature, and a Film Independent Spirit Awards, and NAACP Image Awards and has picked up a total of 50 nominations and eight wins.

One Thousand and One is magnetic and grabs the viewers’ attention and doesn’t let go. Strong story driven performances, in a gritty changing New York City, with Manhattan delivering as strong a performance as the award nominated cast. One Thousand and One is a must see. In theaters March 2024. See it!

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Country: U.S.

Runtime: 117minutes.

Language: English.

Director: A.V. Rockwell.

Producers: Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Brad Weston.

Writer: A.V. Rockwell.

Cast: Teyana Taylor, Josiah Cross, William Catlett, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman Adriane Lenox, Mark Gessner, Tara Pacheco, Emmy Harrington.