Police brutality and white privilege take front and center in this dark comedy by Carey Williams
By Tom Soares
It is very safe to assume that, in a perfect world, the idea of helping someone would always be considered the most noble and commendable thing to do, especially if that person’s life is under imminent danger. However, when you’re a Black young man in America, and the person in distress is an underage white girl, the consequences of being a good samaritan could be deadly.
This crude, unyielding reality is depicted on screen with the sharpness and intensity of a chef’s knife in Emergency, the latest feature film by director Carey Williams and writer K.D. Dávila.
Debuting late last night at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Emergency is very much a cautionary tale of three bright college students of color who are forced to watch their evening party plans spiral into chaos when they find a drunken, teenage girl completely unconscious in their living room, swimming in her own vomit.
Uncertain of what to do, but positive that dialing 9-1-1 could cause even more problems for them, Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler), who are Black, and their optimistic hispanic roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), have to find a way to help Emma (Maddie Nichols) get medical assistance, without being incriminated for something they’re not responsible for.
Emergency is, at its core, a magnificent, strong dark comedy with beautiful photography, sound design and spectacular acting work by its cast, particularly the two main protagonists. Watkins, who just last year worked on the acclaimed Amazon Prime series The Underground Railroad, gives a superbly layered performance as the Ivy League-bound son of African parents, someone with great love for science and sense of justice.
Kunle is adamant on his duty to help Emma, and believes authorities would be fair to him and his friends. Meanwhile, Sean, a straightforward young man whose life has taught him not to trust law enforcement, does not want to involve the police in their already tumultuous situation because he is convinced it will not end well.
RJ Cyler's perfect casting as a character with a colossal personality creates great on screen opposition against Watkin’s subtle and more introverted portrayal of Kunle. The Florida native actor recently appeared on Jeymes Samuels Netflix western The Harder They Fall as Jim Beckwourth, a real life explorer and one of the very few Black mountain main in the American frontier, and in the 2017 action movie Power Rangers as Billy Cranston, the Blue Ranger.
Likewise, Carey Williams’ and K.D. Dávila’s poignant social commentary on racism and police brutality is beyond timing, anxiety inducing and purposely written to take the wind out of viewers.
“They’re not gonna listen,” exclaims a distressed Sean. “They’re just gonna come in here and see three Brown guys hanging over this little white girl. Do y’all see how fucked up that is?”
From the way he dresses to the car he drives, Sean is more than aware of the dangers that surround him as a Black man in America.
Williams and Dávila even go a step further by both questioning fake white allyship and exposing the many different ways these people out themselves, whether it be by justifying the use of the N-word during class, displaying a Black Lives Matter sign on the front yard and then becoming suspicious at the first sight of a person of color, or simply by being a passive beneficiary of white privilege.
Despite the fact that the 2022 Sundance Film Festival just barely started, Emergency is certain to be the most important and impactful film to debut in Park City this year, and the one most worthy of any award buzz that may come in the following months.
With outstanding performances by Donald Elise Watkins and RJ Cyler, and an incredibly sharp commentary on racism and white privilege, Emergency is a must-watch for everyone who supports Black cinema.
Emergency is set to be released on Amazon Prime Video at a later date.