Mickey Hardaway (2023) can be seen as a self fulfilling tragedy. Marcellus Cox, writer and director of the film, gives us a doomed and very flawed hero. Shot in black and white, except for a very short section, the movie feels bleak.
As does the subject matter.
Synopsis
Mickey, played brilliantly by Rashad Hunter, is an artist. A tortured soul who is his own worst enemy. The only person who presents a larger threat to the talented young man is his father; Randall Hardaway. David Chattam plays the bitter and angry paternal head of the family as a resentful, nasty bit of work.
In Act I of the film, Randall shows just how abusive and cruel he can be. Mickey’s mother is no real help as she has been “beaten” into submission. Mickey’s only real supporter is Mr Sweeney (Dennis L.A. White), his art teacher.
His only other supporter is his girlfriend Grace (Ashley Parchment) but their relationship starts falling apart. Mickey hires on as a cartoonist. The prestigious publication, headed by Nathan Hammerson, then becomes another problem in Mickey’s life.
There is an old saying, “Self fulfilling prophecy.” In Mickey’s case, it should be “self fulfilling tragedy.” Like may talented artists, Hardaway feels the world is against him. Everyone, or so it seems to Mickey, puts him down and takes advantage of him.
His expectations of the world are unrealistic and he pays the price. While it is no real surprise that he distrusts everyone, his father saw to that, it is annoying that he feels he needs special attention.
Mickey’s art, which he clearly loves, comes second to his continual complaining about how life is shorting him. Hardaway even resents his shrink; Dr Harden (Stephen Cofield Jr.) for not prolonging their scheduled sessions.
As outsiders looking in, we know that this is going to end badly for the young artist.
The players
All the actors in this film exceed expectations. All have solid bona fides and add much to the story. Young Mr Hunter knocks this one out of the park. Keep a watch on this one, he will go far. Another one that impressed us was Ms Parchment. Pretty, yet deep, she manages to speak volumes without uttering a single word. (A trait she has in common with Chattam and Hunter.)
Once again, all the main players in the film added an admirable bit of gravitas to the tale. Cox gets the most out of his actors and it shows in each and every frame.
The signposts
Cox choses to start the film during an event. One that makes no sense at first, but as the story plays out, everything becomes clear. Even without the shocking first moments of the film, there are signposts literally shouting a foregone conclusion.
We will offer no spoilers here. Suffice to say that from the first reel, Mickey felt doomed and Cox has, in this film, taken us through each little step. We know that this is a tragedy waiting to happen.
behind the scenes
Cinematography by Jamil Gooding, who also edited the film, is spot on. Gooding makes the most of small spaces. Each frame is tight and this helps to put us in Mickey’s shoes as he feels the world closing in. The use of colour in the film, when Mickey starts his relationship with Grace, is a splendid metaphor about love and how the young artist sees his life with this young woman.
It’s a wrap
While this tale was not altogether Shakespearean in scope, it came pretty close. We enjoyed the heck out of this one. Cox’s film earns a full 5 stars out of 5. Mickey Hardaway is streaming right now on Tubi. Check out the trailer and then head on over and watch the film.
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