directed by:
Ralph Cinque written by: Ralph Cinque genre: Drama |
Two things can be true at the same time. On the one hand, you can have an important story that is certainly worth telling, and on the other hand, that doesn't always make it easy to do. Writer/Director Ralph Cinque was definitely aware that the story of a young black man named Raymond Crump, who was accused of killing JFK's last mistress, Mary Pinchot Meyer, was a pivotal moment for the justice system. Dovey Roundtree was the defence attorney, and she had to take on the U.S. Department of Justice back in 1965, where it was assuredly even tougher for a black man to get a fair shake in the courts than it would be today. Hired for one single dollar, Roundtree agrees to represent Crump mainly out of belief and goodwill, which speaks very highly of the character of the legendary American civil rights activist.
So look…I like the story, and I appreciate its importance. As I alluded to at the start of this write-up, that doesn't simply translate to a great viewing experience. There are some undeniable issues here, and they'll show up right away in "Dovey's Promise." From the start, I wasn't entirely sure if it was the acting that was shooting just wide of the mark or perhaps something else I couldn't quite grasp yet. As things settled in and we get to know the characters a little bit more, I began to feel that while the acting still bears some responsibility for things not flowing quite as smoothly as they could, it was more of an unevenness in the pace, direction, and script that felt like the real culprit behind the lack of fluidity this movie needed to succeed. It's rigid and stiff…like I mentioned, you'll notice that right away. It does loosen up a little as things progress, but I'm not sure if it was ever enough to make the difference we needed as viewers. It's just not as natural as you'd want it to be played out onscreen, and often seems that the actors involved are reciting their memorized lines, but not reacting in the moment - or to the folks they're sharing scenes with, which gives "Dovey's Promise" this feeling... like there is an extra layer of obstruction that prevents it from being easily enjoyed. Cinque isn't inept, and that's not what I'm implying – but I think even he'd have to agree in watching this back that the fluidity just isn't there. The core of the story is good, and it's clear that Ralph has a lot of admiration for the strength of Dovey Roundtree, but I'm not sure there's enough finesse in the execution to fully satisfy the objective. We end up in a very strange place that's somewhere between a Hallmark movie and some very important history, and I'm honestly not sure that's the right recipe for success. "Dovey's Promise" is advertised as a courtroom drama; it takes quite a while to get there, but once you arrive, you're never going to leave, perhaps even to the film's own detriment – but I'll address that more as the review carries on. I don't mind the fact that "Dovey's Promise" is shot on a low budget – that's totally fine, great actually – but in the absence of money, you really need the other elements to raise the stakes. Characters, dialogue, and storyline – these become the most essential ingredients to low-budget success, and I'm not quite convinced that there is enough substance in any of these key elements to retain the attention of the average everyday viewer. There are some characters that are decent – Raymond Crump, for example, played by Terrence Mombrun, did a completely solid job. Joy White, who plays Dovey, definitely has some great moments of her own, but I don't know that she, or her character, was enough to carry the film as much as we'd hoped for based on the story. As far as how everything is presented to us, it seems like it's continually searching for the right details to include, which ends up bringing in a bunch of extraneous stuff that feels more like forced inclusions than necessary plot points. For example, the first half hour of "Dovey's Promise" wanders in & out of what you'd really need to know, which directly affects the fluidity & flow of the film. It's as if Cinque feels no sense of urgency when it comes to getting this story moving along.
Once we eventually end up in the courtroom, things begin to get more interesting, even though it gets a bit bogged down by the continual back-and-forth between the prosecution and defence. Jim Truitt (Scotty Walker) comes in to relay some of the more salacious details about the relationship between JFK and Meyer, which…to be honest with ya, seemed better coming from the recollection of his memory as opposed to the short departure we take into a flashback scene. In any event, Jim explains the depths of the potential government cover-up, and while it certainly sounds conspiratorial, he seems to bring enough facts with him to make the unbelievable highly plausible. Tyron Perry does an excellent job as one of the main witnesses (Henry Wiggins) in the trial, and even though he's playing a bit part in the movie overall, he puts in one of the most natural performances you'll see in "Dovey's Promise." Everyone else still feels like they come along dragging a little of that nagging stiffness…Lance Henry as the main prosecutor…Karl Lucht as Dovey's right-hand man, Terence 'Ryle' Reilly…supporting characters like Devon Mathews (Martha Crump) & police officer Rodrick Sylvis (Brian Spellman) – they all needed more dimension, depth, and scenes that played to their strengths. Meanwhile, we've other underused characters, like Raymond, who would have definitely benefited from having more scenes, or even Dovey having more space to give her role a bit more gravitas. Eventually, "Dovey's Promise" backs itself into the corner of being another film where white men see a black man through their scared, generic lens, and embarrassingly can't seem to be able to distinguish one from another in a matter where mistaken identity would be a pretty damn important thing to straighten out. Overall, it kind of got to the point where it felt like "Dovey's Promise" might have been more effective as an audiobook rather than a film – everything seems so straightforward, factual, and informative, but there's no real emphasis being placed on the entertainment factor or how viewers would watch this from their side of the screen. Is it any less engaging than your average episode of "Law & Order?" Maybe not, but it's on par at best. Where the film originally found some strength and movement for its storyline when it reached the courtroom scenes, "Dovey's Promise" slides into a relentless pattern of witness after witness on the stand and somewhat settles for that being enough. I'm not saying that it's not important information for the story, but it does end up feeling like we've been enlisted for jury duty rather than watching a movie to enjoy ourselves. We do eventually end up at the whole 'you can't handle the truth’-type scene, but I'm not sure that it's enough to provide the spark we've so desperately been looking for this show to possess, and there's still about a half-hour left to go at that point. Credit where credit is due, Cinque clearly did his research into court proceedings – to the extent that you'd have to believe he's got his own background in litigation – so the facts/details are presented in a very credible way, even if it's this same very thing that seems to slow the film back down as it gets into the nitty gritty of the court system. As I always tell ya, I've gotta call things like I see 'em. At the end of the day, I am grateful that stories like this one get to see the light of day, because I do think they're important. That being said, I don't know that Cinque has allowed this story to breathe as much as it needed – I could practically feel the stuffy air in the courtroom stifling the entertainment value this movie could have had. The direction is standard & very straightforward, and it does feel like even though Dovey is up against all odds at every turn, we still know how this is going to play out at the end, the entire way through & we're all just going through the motions to get there. I'm going to split the difference with Cinque and give "Dovey's Promise" two and a half stars out of five – it needed more of an inspired spark to give this story the boost it really needed. |
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