By Wendy Simmons

Landmark Century Theater on Chicago’s vibrant north side was filled with people this week eager to see the new film Night Catches Us, starring two phenomenal actors…Kerry Washington of the critically acclaimed film Ray and Anthony Mackie ( The Hurt Locker).
 
If the audience was like me, they were clueless as to what was in store.  I had no prior knowledge of the film and wanted to enter the theater with a blind eye of sorts. I was hoping to be entertained by the next great love story, but I was taken into an entirely different direction.
 
At first glimpse Night Catches Usis a recollection of the struggles that African Americans endured during the 70s that caused great anguish and rage; just out of the Civil Rights movement and the Black Panther revolution and at the cusp of the blaxploitation and crack eras arising.
 
Set in the heart of Philadelphia in 1976 we witness what happened to the fist raising, fight the power screaming, strong men and women that wore their Black Panther buttons with pride but were forced to tear away from that identity; some because of death, others because of controversy. Now lies the time where older men are trying move away from revolutionary tactics, and young men are ready to take on a war that they are not equipped to handle. But that’s not the entire purpose of the film, just the initial introduction to a story that encompasses more than the audience may expect.

Kerry Washington is Patty, a widowed mother that finds it hard to discuss the facts of her husband’s death, therefore leaving her daughter in the dark on how his beliefs ultimately lead to his downfall.

Patty and Mackie’s character Marcus hold a secret between them that help to nourish their hidden desire for one another but also causes them to conflict on the changing times. It’s is no longer the days of screaming fight the power, but Patty’s loyalty to uplifting the community shadows her desire to hold love dear. Continue reading →