“MISTY GREEN” - MINI-REVIEW

A vibrant, episodic character study that also works as a takedown of the entertainment business, MISTY GREEN is Chris Rock’s fourth feature as writer/director (following HEAD OF STATE, I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE and TOP FIVE). It’s a bit uneven, but very observant and with a deep love for its protagonist, warts and all. Rosalind Eleazar (SLOW HORSES) is refreshing in the title role: a once-promising actress, who both has the deck stacked against her and whose train-wreck tendencies helped burn some significant bridges, has less than a week to clear out of the beachfront apartment she’s been squatting in and come up with a new plan for her life in a Hollywood which only sees what it wants to.

Eleazar is aided and abetted by an eclectic supporting cast that includes Daniel Kaluuya as her schizophrenic brother; Adam Driver as a sleazy promoter; Anna Kendrick as Misty’s hypocritical best friend; Topher Grace as her fast-talking manager; and Rock himself as a film director who can give her the second chance that would help her… if she could just get out of her own way.

It may not feature much that you haven’t seen before in terms of its subject, but it’s worth seeing for Eleazar’s wonderful performance, and for Rock’s filmmaking as he continues to push himself, film by film, into new areas of style and content.

MISTY GREEN is in select theaters now.

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