The plight of the Black mother has long been a tale Hollywood will never stop making, but yet can’t get right. Even in the hands of Black filmmakers, Black mother’s have gotten a raw deal as they’re either monstrous or dysfunctional like Mary Lee in Precious or royalty like Ramonda in the Black Panther movies. The last film I recall that got it right was 2020’s Miss Juneteenth.
In her feature directoral debut, A.V. Rockwell aims to change that with her self-described “love letter” to Black women and motherhood, A Thousand and One. A Thousand and One follows Inez (Teyana Taylor), as she kidnaps her son, Terry, and attempts to build a new life in a rapidly changing New York City.
Taylor is the movie’s most recognizable name, but the star of A Thousand and One is writer-director Rockwell. Rockwell pulls off something more experienced filmmakers rarely accomplish - craft a raw, authentic, yet beautiful tale from one of many facets of the Black experience.
Rockwell’s script takes no shortcuts as it meets complexity head-on. She pulls no punches in acknowledging that the characters who move A Thousand and One are real people, not caricatures. She places their positive traits and intentions front and center but also presents the personal faults that challenge their moral compass. It’s reminiscent of the late great John Singleton’s ability to operate in the grey area closer to reality than the rigid black-and-white world that only exists in fairy tales.
Her script also boldly moves into complicated territory with the themes it addresses. While the mother-son relationship is the main plot point, Rockwell weaves far more than a maternal love letter into A Thousand and One. Messaging about relevant issues such as the foster care system, gentrification, and the need to right the dynamics between Black men and women is plentiful but not heavy-handed.
She handles each one with sensitivity and empathy that doesn’t paint either side as a villain but questions if there’s a better way to do things. The colorism issue might be the only exception, but even that’s ultimately handled to produce understanding instead of anger.
From the director’s chair, Rockwell’s eye is something special. She teams with cinematographer Eric Yue to produce gritty yet vibrant shots that should be an exhibit of 90s Harlem. When the duo isn’t capturing the city’s landscape, their use of shadows and lighting for more intimate shots is equally striking.
The excellence doesn’t drop off when you transition to the front of the camera. Taylor has come a long way since she gave us the world’s most annoying pronunciation of Byron. Mirroring the revelatory journey of her musical talents, she’s matured from that role and similarly limiting parts into a performer who can legitimately lead a film.
The hardened exterior that Inez projects is familiar territory for Taylor cinematically, and she effortlessly hits that mark. The performance becomes a marvel when Taylor unleashes a previously unseen vulnerability.
It establishes the believability of the mother-son relationship that drives A Thousand and One and its overarching question of who cares for the caregivers. Taylor plays the latter beautifully in a tense scene where Inez responds to some not-so-well-received advice from her lover Lucky.
While Taylor is the cast’s standout, this isn’t a Teddy Pendergrass-Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes situation. Her support comes in the form of endearing performances from William Catllet and Josiah Cross.
For Catlett, the calm and compassion he brings to Lucky endure throughout the film despite the character’s flaws and limited screen time. In Cross’s case, it’s the range he shows as 17-year-old Terry goes through multiple life-changing situations in the third act.
Given the premise, it’s easy to assume A Thousand and One is your typical struggling Black mother melodrama…and that assumption would be wrong. It’s a layered but honest story propelled by prodigious storytelling from Rockwell and a career-best performance from Taylor that uses the mother-son connection to speak many truths.
Not only should A Thousand and One be seen asap, but it should also spark some long-overdue conversations.
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