Writer-director Chad Hartigan follows up his 2013 Sundance flick This Is Martin Bonner with a heart-felt coming of age story in Morris From America.
The film follows Morris in a fish out of water tale where we expereince the African-American 13-year-old try to fit into a small German town and realize that maybe there simply isn’t a place for him.
While racial lines come into play – they are not the focus of the film (it’s funny how the German kids all think because Morris is black he must be able to rap, and play basketball – he can’t play ball but wants to rap). So when he meets Katrin and falls for her – ultimately it becomes a love story as Morris tries to impress this older gal. She’s a bit of a rebel a es that her mom is scared of her dating someone black – and ultimately she builds a friendship with Morris – but it is their age – not the color of their skin – which remains a dvide. That’s something Morris comes to learn to understand – just becuase she , a 15 year-old, is attracted to a college fella doesn’t mean that they can’t still be friends. Therefore the film remains a solid tale about growing up and finding friends in unlikely places.
The ghost of the film is Morris’ dead mother, who Craig Robinson (who plays his father) still pines for years after her untimely death. Tasked with raising Morris on his own, he’s just trying to do what’s best for his son and works for the entire film to get Morris to understand that. The climax in this father son relationship is when Robinson delivers a monolouge about meeting Morris’ mom and the silly things we all do for love. It’s a great monologue and was well filmed while Roinson is seemingly driving (in real life he was filmed on a moving camera car).
During the Q&A I asked Robinson what inspired his performance for the monolouge and he said it remeinded him of a time where he messed up as a teen and got his family’s car impounded. He remembered that when he called his dad to apologize and ask for help – rather than get really mad – his dad started talking about something he thought Craig sould try and do in his act. It was definitely one of the more dramatic performances Robinson had given and besides speaking German with a fluent feel – he really did a fantastic job with this vulnerable monologue.
It’s a solid indie coming-of-age story with great new talent – and if you have a chance – you should definitley see it.
READ THE SYNOPSIS FROM THE FILM GUIDE: Morris from America revolves around a 13-year-old African-American boy named Morris and the relationship he has with his father, Curtis, during the transitional period of adolescence. Complicating matters, they are new residents of Heidelberg, Germany—a city of rich history but little diversity. Morris falls in love with a local German girl named Katrin, and his tumultuous connection with her takes him on a journey that ends in self-discovery and a new dynamic to his relationship with Curtis.
Morris from America has style and heart so perfectly calibrated that it unfolds effortlessly before our eyes. Pulsating with the rhythm of a 13-year-old’s heart, this film springs from different cinematic traditions to become a distinctive coming-of-age story all its own. Writer/director Chad Hartigan returns to the Sundance Film Festival (This Is Martin Bonner, 2013) with another nuanced character piece featuring a breakout star. This time it is Markees Christmas in the lead role who turns in a dizzyingly endearing performance that will have audiences cheering “Ich liebe Morris!”
Director: Chad Hartigan
Screenwriter: Chad Hartigan