''1982'' is a 2013
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by
Tommy Oliver
Dr. Tommy Oliver is a fictional character and the overarching main protagonist of the American live-action television franchise ''Power Rangers''. He is best known as being the original Green Ranger and the first evil Ranger who fought and near ...
and starring
Hill Harper
Francis Eugene "Hill" Harper (born May 17, 1966) is an American actor and author. He is known for his roles on ''CSI: NY'', ''Limitless (TV series), Limitless'' and ''The Good Doctor (TV series), The Good Doctor''.
Early life and education
Harpe ...
. It is Oliver's directorial debut.
[ The film is also semi-autobiographical. The film marked the final appearance of actress and activist ]Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...
before her death in 2014.
Plot
The film is set in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
1982. Tim Brown walks in the kitchen to Shenae who is washing dishes. He wraps his arms around her while saying "Scrabble" to their daughter Maya. Maya responses saying "with ice cream too" handing Tim a dish rag while saying "ice cream too, yay" and running out the kitchen. Tim says to Shenae "food was amazing babe" Shenae responds by mentioning she spoke to Tim's mom but in fact she only called to talk to Maya. Tim leaves the kitchen after being shocked that his mom and Shenae spoke but Shenae mentions she spoke to Maya. Later on that night the family played Scrabble and Shenae asks how does Maya know so many words especially such as Panacea and she goes on to define the word for Shenae before Tim puts her in bed to say goodnight and puts change in her Michaelangelo bank.
The next day, Maya is talking to Micah about the ball some men took from her. She attempts to take the ball back but they keep it from her and the little boy. Alonzo starts walking over to them and tells one of men to give the ball back; the guy asks why and he repeats "give them the ball back." The man gives the ball to Maya and says he was just playing as Maya walks away. Alonzo then grabs the man and say don't make me have to ask you to do something twice and burns his face with the cigarette he was smoking. Alonzo then ask the rest of the guys if they have anything else to say (no one says anything).
Back at the house, Shenae is cleaning and Tim decides to put on a song by The Stylistics
The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All of ...
. While the record is playing, Tim calls out to Shenae while she is in the kitchen. She says what walking to the room he was in and he insist they dance together in the living room. He tells her he has tickets for Breakwater, Frankie Smith, and Pieces of a Dream at 7pm. Shenae declines and says she is going out with Neecy's instead. Maya walks in and starts to go upstairs but Tim tells her to come sit and talk with him. He then asks about the book she is reading. Maya mentions The Iliad, she misplaced it however states how she likes it a lot while her mom Shenae walks in interrupting their talk for a kiss. Maya kisses her mom and goes up stairs. Tim starts to record Shenae with a tape recorder and she mentioned how she hates that thing and Tim stops. Tim and Scoop are leaving work and Scoop asked Tim for a ride, Tim takes him to his house. Shenae is braiding Maya's hair where they run into Shenae outside after she tells Maya she is done. Maya ask to go outside and that's where she runs into Alonzo saying he has a lollipop for her, Maya says bye and leaves after Shenae tells her too. Shenae ask Alonzo why he was at her house - he states he was checking in on her. He then hands her heroin in a dime bag. Tim pulls up with Scoop; Tim ask Shenae who was that; referring to Alonzo walking off. Ignoring the question she asks why Scoop was there at their house. Shenae ignores the question by telling Scoop "you know that's why I don’t like you". Scoop states how he doesn't like her either then tells Tim bye and walks away. Shenae tells Tim his mother calls while he walks in the house not before asking what's for dinner. Shenae replies she doesn't know and sits on the steps outside staring at the small bag of drugs.
Later that night, Shenae is crying on the sofa holding a small teddy bear as Maya walks down the stairs she asked Shenae if she is okay. Shenae wipes her tears and says she's fine and holds Maya. Maya asked her if she wants her to sing a song. Maya starts singing to her mom. Week 2 Shenae comes in at 7am and wakes Tim. He tells her it's 7:00 and asks where she was last night. Tim knocks on Neecy's door and angrily asks her if his wife slept at her house last night. She first says no and then as he walks away she says yes she left that morning. Tim goes through the motions waiting for Shenae to get home and she mentioned she was at Neecy's and he asks her about the guy that she was talking to the other day. She says no and goes to pack her things mentioning she's going to Neecy's. She runs into Maya on her way out and states they both need a scrabble rematch Saturday at 2. Unfortunately, Saturday came and Shenae never showed up. Tim tells Maya Shenae was helping Neecy while she was sick and he got her Jim's cheesesteak.
Cast
*Hill Harper
Francis Eugene "Hill" Harper (born May 17, 1966) is an American actor and author. He is known for his roles on ''CSI: NY'', ''Limitless (TV series), Limitless'' and ''The Good Doctor (TV series), The Good Doctor''.
Early life and education
Harpe ...
as Tim Brown
*Sharon Leal
Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'', '' This Christmas'', ''Why Did I Get Married?'', ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' and her roles on the television shows ''Legacy'', ''Gu ...
as Shenae Brown
*Bokeem Woodbine
Bokeem Woodbine (born April 13, 1973) is an American actor. In 1994 he portrayed Joshua, Jason's troubled brother, in ''Jason's Lyric''. He won a Black Reel Award, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Awar ...
as Scoop
*La La Anthony
Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez; born June 25, 1979 ) is an American television personality and actress. In the early 2000s, she worked as an MTV VJ on ''Total Request Live''. She was the host of the VH1 reality television reunion ...
as Neecy
*Quinton Aaron
Quinton Aaron (born August 15, 1984) is an American actor. He made his film debut in Michel Gondry's '' Be Kind Rewind''. His first lead role was as Michael Oher in the 2009 film '' The Blind Side''.
Early life
Aaron was born in The Bronx, New ...
as Turtle
*Wayne Brady
Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
as Alonzo
*Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...
as Rose Brown
*Troi Zee
Troi Zee is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Maya in the 2013 drama film '' 1982'' and Amanda in the 2015 drama film ''Advantageous''. Zee garnered recognition for playing Anna in the Nickelodeon animated musical children' ...
as Maya Brown
* Chaz Dausuel as Terrence
Release
The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...
and later made its multi-platform release in March 2016.
Reception
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on nine reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.
Sheri Linden of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Suitably low-key but sometimes under-realized, this drama is fueled by its working-class milieu and a heart-wrenching performance by Hill Harper."
See also
*List of black films of the 2010s
The following is a list of black films that were released in the 2010s. Black films listed here are generally associated with the peoples from the African diaspora; the cinema of Africa is distinct from this topic (see list of African films). Lawr ...
References
External links
*
* {{rotten-tomatoes, 1982_2013
2010s English-language films
2013 films
Lionsgate films
2013 drama films
African-American drama films
2013 directorial debut films
Films set in 1982
2010s American films