'If I Go Will They Miss Me' at The Nightlight 🎬

“It’s a pleasure just to get to absorb the movie’s gorgeous images and marvelous performances, held together by a dreamy logic whose flow is easier to feel than to explain.” – Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
If I Go Will They Miss Me is set in Watts, Los Angeles, where the constant noise of planes from LAX shapes its residents' lives. The story centers on Anthony Jr. (Bodhi Dell), affectionately called "Little Ant." A gentle and creative boy, he is a misfit at school, captivated by airplanes and Greek mythology. He imagines himself as Pegasus, with dreams of lifting his family from their mundane existence.
Little Ant idolizes his father "Big Ant" (J. Alphonse Nicholson), a recent prison returnee, whom he likens to Poseidon. However, Big Ant distances himself from his sensitive son, perceiving him as too soft for life's disappointments, including those resulting from his own flaws as a father. Meanwhile, weary Lorita (the ever-remarkable Danielle Brooks) strives to maintain her dignity while trying to keep the family members connected.
Echoing Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, this lyrical film showcases beautifully shot performances by both Black actors and non-actors, accompanied by an evocative score. Director Walter Thompson-Hernández, who debuted with a 2022 Sundance Film Festival award-winning short of the same name, emerges as a distinct voice in contemporary cinema, presenting an empathic exploration of familial bonds, intergenerational trauma, and the complicated relationship between a Black boy and his imperfect father. -SIFF