One Bedroom (2018)

One Bedroom: Directed by Darien Sills-Evans. With Stephen Hill, Darien Sills-Evans, Jade Johnson, DeAriesha Mack. After five years of ups and downs, an African American couple spends their final afternoon together arguing and remembering better days, as one of them moves out and hopefully on with her life.

“Greetings again from the darkness. Since none of us enjoy our own relationship-gone-bad, itu0026#39;s kind of interesting how we can be drawn to just such a movie. Nate and Melissau0026#39;s romance is crumbling … or rather has crumbled. She has accused him of cheating with a younger woman, and they are surrounded by moving boxes as they finish break-up (not make-up) intimacy in the small Brooklyn apartment theyu0026#39;ve been sharing for 5 years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWriter-Director-Producer-Actor Darien Sill-Evans stars as Nate, a DJ slash barber, who can never quite distinguish between what he should tell Melissa and the boys at the barbershop, and what he should keep to himself. Heu0026#39;s a pretty typical clueless dude. Melissa is angry at him for cheating, and during their argument, a flashback sheds light on what really happened that night. Conflict and emotions fill the screen whether itu0026#39;s Melissa and Nate bickering, or Nate getting the treatment from his co-workers at the barbershop, or even Melissa hearing it from her friend and brother. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn his first feature film as a director, Sill-Evans does a nice job of establishing the lingering doubts that accompany the dissolution of a long term relationship. Fingers are pointed, accusations are made, and feelings of guilt are predominant. He uses additional flashbacks to deliver more insight into all of these characters, especially the two leads. Much of the dialogue seems yanked directly from real life, and the best is, u0026quot;I didnu0026#39;t cheat, I retaliatedu0026quot;. So much is said with those words.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is quite a bit of comedy mixed in, though much of the time, itu0026#39;s the delivery, not the setting that generates the chuckles. Mr. Sill-Evans has certainly not delivered a formulaic Rom-Com, and in fact, the dramatic moments are the most powerful – shedding light on our flaws as human beings. Supporting work is provided by Jade Johnson, John Laster, Stephen Hill, and Chester A Sims II.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOpening with a streetside rant against racism, we hear some of the stupid things white people say during the gentrification of a neighborhood. Doug Simpsonu0026#39;s music is spot on throughout, and though this one wonu0026#39;t reach a mass audience, for an independent directorial debut, it definitely makes a statement.”