Fix: Drama, Science Fiction, Superpowers, Complicated Families, Dystopia
Platform: Netflix
Hulu Summary:
Hunted by mysterious forces and a local sheriff, a young woman with supernatural abilities flees back to her family-and unearths the depths of the power within her.
FYA Summary:
A woman on the run heads back to her family’s rural farm amidst an unrelenting drought in a not-so-distant future. Ruth has escaped from the scientists who want to test her abilities and has nowhere else to go but back to her disapproving mother and the young daughter she left behind when she was in the throes of addiction. The women in her family have kept their legacy hidden for generations and Ruth and her mother must confront their fears in order to save themselves and control their gifts.
Familiar Faces:
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ruth
I will admit, I have not seen a ton of Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s work, but I’ve definitely noticed her in what I have seen. She’s stunningly effective at navigating all the emotions that Ruth goes through without ever being overwrought. Also, she has a truly excellent haircut in this.
Lorraine Toussaint as Bo
Toussaint has a huge body of work. She’s been in Friday Night Lights, y’all! As Bo, she’s responsible for carrying on her family’s traditions and guarding her secrets closely.
Saniyya Sidney as Lila
Saniyya has an impressive resume for such a young girl, having been in two Academy Award nominated films, Hidden Figures and Fences. And she stole the show in the sadly cancelled TV series, The Passage. She holds her own among the powerhouses here as Ruth’s abandoned daughter.
David Strathairn as Sheriff Ellis
David Strathairn has been in a hundred productions, but to me, he’s most memorable as Ira Lowenstein in A League of Their Own, and the creepy father from Dolores Claiborne. Sorry, Strathairn.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Peaceful
Fast Color is a quiet movie with desolate settings and long moments of stillness that tell you so much about the world these women inhabit. It’s the perfect movie to watch in solitude or with an isolation companion who’s great at appreciating movies in silence. My husband is super jealous if you have one of those, because he does not.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Bone Dry
Besides the fact that the main character is a recovering drug addict, which makes suggesting a cocktail accompaniment seem in bad taste, I really don’t think the movie needs it. They’ve worked so hard to set a specific tone and I’d hate for you to miss a single nuanced performance.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Powerful
Fast Color was produced by Jordan Horowitz, who made La La Land, and it debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in 2018, but it took awhile for the film to find a distributor because Horowitz was told by studios that they didn’t know who the movie was for. Once released, it made only $77,000 at the box office. I think we can figure out why a movie about three generations of Black women with supernatural talents failed to find an audience. I mean, did you see a movie trailer for it? I sure as hell didn’t.
Well, I’m here to tell you that this movie is for me, and it’s for you, and it’s for everyone who appreciates fantastic performances, female writer/directors, and stories about compelling badass women.
Fast Color is now in development as a TV series for Amazon, with Viola Davis producing.
