Chicago International Film Festival Review: Three Great Films to Check Out

Despite an ongoing (and possibly never-ending) pandemic, The Chicago International Film Festival recently completed its 56th run this year without significant hiccups. Like the LA Short Fest and the American Black Film Festival, the renowned program decided to move some of its events online this year. Viewers from coast to coast got a chance to watch 58 feature films, nine short programs, and seven world premieres, all from the comfort of their home or car. Though the festival had some drive-in screenings in the “Windy City,” there were plenty of movies for folks to enjoy on their couch. 

As a Chicago native living on the West Coast, it was an absolute treat to watch these films. Here is a quick roundup of three great films from North American’s longest-running competitive film festival. 

One Night in Miami 

Director: Regina King
Writer: Kemp Powers
Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir,  Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.

Noted actor turned director Regina King brings four legendary Black icons down to earth in One Night in Miami. Based on the stage play by Kemp Powers, this fictional period piece follows Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) on the night of Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Florida. After Clay’s successful boxing match against heavyweight champion Sonny Liston (Aaron D. Alexander), Clay, Cooke, Malcolm X, and Brown meet at the historic Hampton House Motel for one night of merriment. These high profile figures revel in their success, discuss their role in the civil rights movement, and, most notably, dissect what it means to be a Black man in 1960s America.

One Night in Miami stands out from other historical dramas about the civil rights movement because it breaks these Black men down to their core. Goree not only highlights Clay’s youthful appeal and cockiness, but he also shows the character’s insecurities as he weighs his options with the Nation of Islam. Sam Cooke may be the poster child of 1960s Black Hollywood glam, but in this role, Odom Jr. acknowledges how stressful it is for Black entertainers to navigate between White and Black spaces. Hodge is more or less an elder statesman as football player Jim Brown, but the actor uses the character’s experiences with race and success to depict the older man’s weariness towards the world. And Ben-Adir reveals a side of Malcolm X that the media rarely portrays. By displaying the character’s passion for religion and family with sincerity, we see a human being, not a controversial activist.

And all of these performances come together thanks in part to King’s directing. Though the film can be talky and claustrophobic, King’s beautifully composed scenes manage to make the drama feel alive. And despite taking place nearly 60 years ago, the issues these men face in One Night in Miami still resonate today.

image by Prime Video

The Road Up

Director: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siske
Starring: Jesse Teverbaugh

The Road Up proves that second chances are possible, especially for people at the bottom of the economic ladder. By award-winning directors Greg Jacobs and Jon Siske, the observational documentary film follows four students as they try to get their life back on track through a Chicago-based training program called Cara. Located in the downtown area, Cara helps people struggling to find employment due to their addiction, homelessness, or criminal background. As participants in the program, all Cara students have to complete a four-week boot camp called Transformations. Lead by their passionate but strict mentor, Director of Student Affairs Jesse Teverbaugh (Mr. Jesse for short), Cara students learn to accept their mistakes as they turn their lives around. These students include bright but troubled young woman Kristen, formerly incarcerated father, Clarence, recovering drug addict Tamala, and poor Trinandian mother, Alisa. Each with their own story to tell, these people show that everyone deserves a better future no matter who they are.

What makes The Road Up an intriguing film is that the documentary gives the four Cara students a platform to tell their stories. Instead of focusing on taking heads or filling the void with archival footage, directors Jacobs and Siske smartly zooms onto the student’s lives with the utmost care. And for a good reason. It is easy to relate to people like Tamala and Clarence than to listen to a poverty expert state facts we already know. And though some of the students do not complete the program, Cara still proves that the best way to help people is to treat them with compassion and respect, not judgment and disdain. Of course, Mr. Jesse and his team hold their students accountable for their mistakes. But they also provide their students a roadmap to a better future.

Image by Siskel/Jacobs Productions

Sylvie’s Love

Director/Writer: Eugene Ashe
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha as Robert

Black and Brown people’s lives are in full display in Sylvie’s Love. By former Sony Music recording artist turned filmmaker Eugene Ashe, Sylvie’s Love follows Sylvie (Tessa Thompson) as she falls in, out, and in love again with talented saxophone artist Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha). The love story begins in the epicenter of Black culture and music, 1957 Harlem. Sylvie runs the front desk of her father’s record store called Mr. Jay’s. While at the same time, Robert is out looking for a job to supplement his career as a musician. When the young man steps into the record store to ask for a job, he eyes the gorgeous girl at the counter. Within minutes, the two become smitten, and Sylvie’s father, Hebert (Lance Reddick), hires Robert on the spot. But despite their immediate attraction, Sylvie and Robert know their relationship does not have a future. Sylvie is engaged to Lacy, a wealthy Black man fighting the war in Korea. Whereas Robert’s band, the Dickie Brewster Quartet, gets a long-term gig in Paris. But despite their circumstances, Sylvie and Robert manage to fall back into each other arms. 

Romantic dramas live and die on the casting of its two leads. Thankfully, Sylvie’s Love delivers. Tessa Thompson gives Dorothy Dandridge realness. Like the ingénue before her, Thompson looks stunning in every gorgeous dress she wears, brightens up the screen in every scene she in, and enchants the audience with every word she says. Though not as strong as Thompson performance-wise, Nnamdi Asomugha gives his best Harry Belafonte’s impression as Robert. He looks and plays the part of male romantic lead. And together, these two make movie magic. Their chemistry is so great that sparks fly the moment these two meet. 

But what sets the film apart from its contemporaries is it does not focus on a great Black woman or man of history. It is about two ordinary people falling in and out of love while chasing their dreams in the early 60s. Sure, these characters still go through systematic racism. It takes place before the civil rights movement, after all. But these characters also live fully developed lives. And it is the lives of these people that make the romantic drama feel so radical.

image by Prime Video

- - -

How to Support Hi, Phylecia: Like, follow, or share my work on Twitter, Instagram, or Bloglovin’. And please feel free to buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. Your contributions allow me to work on this blog.