Moses the Black review by Bobby Blakey
It’s always interesting when filmmakers blend messages and genres. When handled right they get not only be creative, but powerful in their message. The latest, Moses the Black looks to do just that taking the story of a saint into the contemporary gangster drama. Does it successfully balance the two ideals into a cohesive powerful story, or will it fail to step out of the cell?
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Moses the Black follows a Chicago gangster’s journey of reckoning, inspired by the true story of the fourth-century saint of the same name. The film stars Omar Epps, Wiz Khalifa, Quavo, Chukwudi Iwuji, Corey Hendrix, Cliff Chamberlain, Ahmad Ferguson, Sambou “Bubba” Camara, Kierra Bunch, Skilla Baby, and former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder from director Yelena Popovic.
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I love the street crime genre so anytime a film takes that on I am there to give it a shot. I was intrigued by what they were trying to accomplish here, and it has everything it needed to make it work but falls to often in the cliché generic formula. The strong cast struggles with the only real saving grace being Omar Epps that has a powerful presence here but regulated to mostly just stoic faces and fights of conscience. It could have still worked, but it gets so caught up, veering away from his journey and filling it with a budding gang war that has nothing real to say and instead just seems to be going through the motions.
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In a normal film I would be fine with this direction, but the depth it is trying to create in the narrative just doesn’t work. The flashes of time to try and connect the life of the saint in the fourth century to the present day is just distracting and feel forced. I know they are trying to showcase the parallels in both men’s lives, but it doesn’t work well together. The flashback scenes are purposely shot in a different color palate, but it still feels simple and doesn’t add anything to the
bigger story other than to remind the audience what its based on for no real reason.
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This entire film could have told the exact same story without any of these elements that added nothing to it other than attempting relevance. The lower budget shines through in a lot of the scenes that are only saved by some of the performances, but just as many fall flat. Some of the actors don’t seem like they are in the same film with one giving stoic hard performance, some cliched and yet another so over the top it is almost cartoonish.
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I had hoped this film would find a voice that brings balance to both ideals, but instead it falls pretty flat getting lost in simplicity instead of the depth it needed. Decide for yourself and check out Moses the Black available now on digital.