''Cover'' is a drama

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

produced and directed by

Bill Duke William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor and film director. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. Frequently ...

and starring

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Men of Honor'' (2000), '' The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), '' Undercover Brother'' (2002), ''Ray'' (2004), '' The Express: The Ern ...

Razaaq Adoti Razaaq Adoti (born 27 June 1973) is a British actor, producer and screenwriter. Early life Adoti was born in Forest Gate, London of Nigerian descent (Nigerian British). He landed his first professional screen role on the British television sh ...

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

, and

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

. It opened at selective theaters on February 22, 2008.

Plot

A woman accused could be either a killer or a victim in this psychological drama from director Bill Duke. Valerie Mass is a God-fearing housewife and artist who one day finds herself in a situation she never imaged possible—being questioned on murder charges by no-nonsense police detective Hicks and Simmons, a district attorney eager to close this case. As Valerie repeatedly insists she's not a murderer, she tells the story of the last several months of her life. Valerie's husband, Dutch, is a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

with a practice in Atlanta who was offered a high-paying job by his old friend Monica, who works at a hospital 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 ...

. Dutch takes the job and Valerie dutifully follows, and she seeks solace in the women's support group at local church. Dutch spends more and more time with drug-abusing Monica, her wealthy but uninterested husband, Kevin, and obsessively womanizing musician Ryan Chambers. As Valerie's marriage begins to fall apart, she suspects her husband is being unfaithful, but she's shocked to discover the truth is more complicated than she imagined.

Cast

as Valerie Mass *

as Dutch Mass *

as Zahara Milton *

Leon Robinson Leon Preston Robinson (born March 8, 1962), usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor who began his professional career as a film actor in the early 1980s. Robinson is best known for his roles as David Ruffin in the TV film ''The T ...

as Ryan Chambers *

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

as Detective Hicks *

Paula Jai Parker Paula Jai Parker is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting roles in the films ''Friday'' (1995), '' Sprung'' (1997), '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998), ''Phone Booth'' (2002), '' Hustle & Flow'' (2005), and '' Idlewild'' (20 ...

as Monica Wilson * Roger Guenveur Smith as Kevin Wilson *

Richard Gant Richard Edward Gant (born March 10, 1944) is an American actor. His credits include the film '' Rocky V (1990)'', where he played the Don King-esque George Washington Duke; Hostetler in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006); and Owen in '' Men of a Certa ...

as Robert Mass *

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

as Cynda *

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

as Attorney Miller * Victoria Gabrielle Platt as Charlotte *

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit " Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Vero ...

as D.A. Simmons * Patti LaBelle as Mrs. Persons *Clayton Prince as Greg *Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery as Nicole Mass

Reception

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

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film holds 30 out of a 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' criticized the director Bill Duke for "aims ngfor social awareness, but deliver ngsecond-rate melodrama instead". Lou Lumenick of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' said that " he film wuld be a candidate for the year's most unintentionally funny movie so far - if it weren't also the most homophobic".

References

External links

* * {{Bill Duke 2007 films 2000s thriller drama films 2007 LGBT-related films African-American films African-American LGBT-related films American thriller drama films American LGBT-related films Bisexuality-related films Films directed by Bill Duke 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films