This is part of the Discovery section of TIFF, with THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT already coming soon to Hulu in the US and Disney+ in Canada.
About: When a mysterious man (Willem Dafoe) approaches Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) to rent his basement for a generous sum, Blakey is drawn into a chilling reality involving his own family’s hidden history in Nadia Latif’s adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel.
Reaction: Featuring an outstanding lead performance by Corey Hawkins and supported by another great performance by the always reliable Willem Dafoe, THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT feels like a “chamber piece” of sorts at first as it sets up a very bizarre concept that while feels unrealistic, does touch on some really interesting points on racism still present in our society today. The premise alone, of an older man wanting to rent a basement only to be treated like a prisoner, makes this feel more like a play than a movie narrative at times, but it’s still an effective premise that held my attention despite having to “suspend my disbelief” at times.
It is great to see Willem Dafoe have so many solid roles as of late and he’s also very good here as a counter-balance to Hawkins; as the movie gets darker and more cerebral as it goes on as more family history is revealed. The movie goes strangely genre and feels like some horror elements are at play here, but then the movie grounds itself back and forth keeping itself interesting.
The movie is far from perfect and a bit overlong at its 115 minute run-time, and the great performances help balance some strange tonal shifts that might throw off some audiences. Even so, this is a unique piece of storytelling that I am glad I got to see. While it is mentioned this is getting some theatrical screenings, it is more mentioned that this is going straight to streaming which is also a shame. The wide-screen look and feel is suited for the big screen first, so here’s hoping that this can play some specialty screenings before getting lost on the streaming service.
A huge thanks to the team at Disney+/Hulu for sending along a screener link for review ahead of the festival!