Misty Green

Friday, September 18: This screening will be presented with open captions.

Superstar comic Chris Rock’s latest as writer-director is a hilarious, scathing satire of the institutional bigotry and soul-draining hustle that dominate the movie industry. Featuring a career-making lead performance from Rosalind Eleazar (TIFF ’19’s The Personal History of David Copperfield) and supporting turns from Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya plus Oscar nominees Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick (also at this year’s Festival in Babies), Misty Green chronicles the extremes one Black actor goes to to keep both her career and brother alive.

Misty (Eleazar) is on the verge of a comeback, if only she could curb her worst habits. In a narcotic-fuelled mania, she went from winning an Emmy to losing a big project helmed by ace director Jordan (Rock). Jordan, however, is ready to give Misty another chance with his forthcoming remake of Dreamgirls. It’s a coveted opportunity, but Misty has competing concerns, such as her looming eviction and her brother (Kaluuya), navigating life with bipolar disorder, who gets into serious trouble. As pressure to procure funds mounts, Misty finds herself considering an offer by her former flame (Driver) that’s simultaneously heinous and lucrative beyond her wildest dreams.

In the tradition of such Black cinema milestones as Robert Townsend’s Hollywood Shuffle and Spike Lee’s TIFF ’00 feature Bamboozled, Rock’s searing portrait of Tinseltown exposes just how deeply racism, classism, and misogyny contaminate the motion picture ecosystem. Misty Green is one of the best LA movies in years — and its best jokes sting with the insight only a veteran wit like Rock could deliver.

Content advisory: strobe lighting, themes of sexual violence, sexual content, drug use, coarse language