52 Films by Women Vol 9. 22. The Man In My Basement (Director: Nadia Latif)
Pictured : Charles Blakey ( Corey Hawkins ) answers the door in a scene from the drama, ' The Man In My Basement ', directed by Nadia Latif , who adapted Walter Mosley 's novel working with the author. Still courtesy of Andscape / Hulu (US) There are a few things wrong with British co-writer-director Nadia Latif’s feature debut, The Man In My Basement , adapted with the author from Walter Mosley’s novel, set as far as I can tell in 1986. Quite a few right things too. Overall, I remained intrigued throughout the near two-hour running time, being unfamiliar with the novel, never being sure where the story would go. It covers the subjects of guilt, isolation and heritage and is set in the African American community of Sag Harbor, formerly a major whaling and shipping port in Long Island, New York. ‘Moby Dick’ gets a shout out. To dismiss what’s wrong with it, first there’s the title. It suggests a more ‘first person’ - principal viewpoint character - experience than the on...