American Black Film Fesitval 2021: "Liam White" Review
Harold Jackson III’s latest film Liam White: The Forgettable Life of Liam White explores the life of a dying man as he tries to tackle what his life means to others and himself. It’s an exploration of death, life, and the people who shape us in between.
Liam White (Shaun Woodland) is a writer whose glory days may be in the not too distant rear view. He’s trying to write his next big thing when he finds out he has terminal cancer. Trying to get his house in order, while internally wrestling with this news, Liam goes on a journey to talk with family and friends. Adrianna (Sasha Wakefield), Liam’s seemingly long time partner with no real commitment, walks in step beside him through this journey.
The opening sequences of the film stumbles around with glimpses of Liam’s day to day activities. It mirrors the character’s internal battle as a struggling writer. Throughout the story audio between the scenes is handled similarly. L cuts (when the audio from the preceding scene continues to play over footage from the following scene) and j cuts (when the audio from the next scene plays in the preceding) are used throughout the film to support this stumbling storyline and vibe. It’s important to note this because the film doesn’t play out in the standard format of editing but rather capriciously moves through time and space.
Making his third collaboration with Jackson, Woodland’s performance reeks of preparation. He plays Liam subdued in such a way that you can almost see the cloud over Liam’s head. His internal thoughts are rushing as he tries to come to grips with an expiration date on his life, which manifests in a disconnect in his eyes while interacting with people and going through the motions of what’s left of his life. He’s the center of gravity within a hypnotic film and his performance is an anchor.
Perhaps like our own lives, most of the actors in this film feel like character actors fulfilling a scene not only in the movie but for Liam’s life. It’s truly an ensemble film in which each performance builds the supporting cast around him. Seasoned actors Jasmine Guy and Terrence “TC” Carson give strong performances as Liam’s parents. While their on screen time isn’t extremely long, their presence is felt, allowing their eyes and physicality to do the work of expressing years of bitterness, anger, resentment and regret. We also get a who’s who of DMV actors like Chad Eric Smith, Rick Kain, Tamieka Chavis, and Michael J. Patterson filling in bit parts like the pros they are. If you know you know!
Jackson gives special attention to the world around Liam. Specifically, he looks at the environment of DC that seems to be passing by Liam. Or is it Liam who glides through the District? Usually precise with his camerawork, Jackson breaks the 180 degree rule in a scene right after Liam finds out he’s terminally ill. While it could have been the confines of spacing on set, I have to believe this is done purposefully to subtly throw off the cinematic world much like Liam’s has been. While life doesn’t cut together in a montage like film our memories do. Some memories we can relive precisely and others are a quick glimpse of what was and we are led down that path visually throughout the film. Any of Jackson’s work has something to be aware of from a technical aspect and it’s the editing and visual/audio montages in this one that is important to the storytelling.
Liam White is perhaps Jackson’s most “artsy” piece to date. Most of his films have a direct address of a subject matter through dialogue. Here, sometimes what’s not spoken is important. This film is more of a mosaic that collectively speaks. You have to see the forest for the trees or this movie may be a self titled, self fulfilling prophecy in being forgettable. However, if you let the hour and twenty six minute run time tell you a bigger picture of life from a birds eye view, you just might pause long enough to reflect on your own! Perhaps that’s the point.
Rating: B
