Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
Feature Set in Oakland Plays African Festival by Doniphan Blair
Isaiah, played by Vaughn Wilkenson, is caught between the 'hood and the black middle class—his girlfriend's father (Franklin Westbrooks). photo: E. Maels
STRAIGHT OUT OF WEST OAKLAND—
although it was shot in LA—"Against the Grain" (2012) is a solid and moving freshman feature.
"We didn't have the funds to come up from LA," I was told by writer/director Elias Maels, who graduated three years ago from UCLA film school. He also produced, along with partner Mayon Denton, who executive produced.
Even so, Maels, who grew up in West Oakland, wanted his home town for that inflammatory mix of 'hood, intellectuals and people of non-color. Although the school scenes weren't quite UC Berkeley, he obtained other locations that looked very Oaklandish as well as a great cast and hundreds of extras.
And it paid off. Indeed, Maels was at the African Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria in April where "Against" was nominated for the Best Diaspora Feature.
The film opens with Isaiah, played by the excellent and up-and-coming Vaughn Wilkenson, getting "Against the Grain" tattooed on his arm and then having his friends place bets against his success at higher education. Despite some clunky writing, especially at the end, that's a sharply observed scene.
So is when his workingclass disciplinarian father, ably rendered by Myles Cranford, responds to his claim "I was just celebrating going to college" with, "I don't care if you are going to space, you don't come liquored up into my house."
Isaiah's GF (Amaris Davidson) is about to be caught between the 'hood and the black middle class. photo: E. Maels
Fortunately, his loving mother (Deirdre Weston) provided him a balanced upbringing. Meanwhile, the fact that she has a brain tumor and it runs in the family provides the knight-errant quest: to become a neurosurgeon despite the difficulties of his homies, doing advanced studies on an ancient PC and having an overachieving black GF.
While the PC problem is solved by his white roomie's Mac, the GF, Nicolette (the talented Amaris Davidson) is more problematic. This is due both to her type-A dad busting his chops—" With all due respect sir," Isaiah tells him in another great line, "I can't help the fact that I was raised in an unpleasant environment"—and her insistence on visiting him at his home where—guess what?—gun play is common.
"I guess your dad wasn't kidding about not going outside," notes the roomie, played by David Coe, without irony, unfortunately.
Although it relies on standard set pieces, as with any drama, the art is in having enough heart and insight to rise above the cliche, which "Against" does on most occasions.
Isaiah's college roommate, played by David Coe, learns that his dad isn't joking about 'not going out side' as the house is shot up. photo: E. Maels
Naturally, things do go terribly wrong. The need of a black middleclasser to prove herself by visiting the 'hood versus Isaiah's desire to stay friends with his increasingly gangbang buddies—who drop by a frat party and proceed to pistol whip their way out—could have been Tarrantino-ed, with foreshadowing, fateful decision close-ups and slower scenes, for more tension.
Bob, played by DJ Kemp, is particularly good as the loose cannon who will inevitably cause trouble. Although no one actually dies, Maels gets the drama cooking as Isaiah struggles to keep up his grade point average and standing with Nicolette even as he takes the fall and goes to jail for his homies' frat freak out.
Fortunately, Nicolette teaches him how to study—both underline in the book AND type up all your notes—so he's able to meet the terms of his parole.
What it lacks in minor character development and technical skills, it makes up in spirit and an insider's evocation of Oakland narratives. Indeed, "Against" enjoyed the solid cinematography of Jeanne Tyson, coincidentally a woman, like another recent film about Oakland, "Fruitvale Station", although that film's shooter, Rachel Morrison, plays a much more aggressive and avant hand.
Considering Maels was born and raised by Eritrean parents in West Oakland (18th and Market, just a few blocks from this magazine's offices) and attended the tough McClymonds High, the film's meta-story is essentially his own.
Isaiah tries to stay friends with his homies but Bob (DJ Kemp) is one psycho too far. photo: E. Maels
"I hung with people who partook of those [gang] activities. I was rebellious and gave my teachers a hard time," which forced him to leave McClymonds. But he was saved by the arts.
"Because I have a stutter, I naturally got into writing and communicating visually," Maels told me by phone. "I used to draw and paint as a kid. I got into to storytelling." Finally, he found his way to El Cerrito High where, "I had several teachers that pushed me along and got me to apply to film school in UCLA."
"I loved film school"—much like his Isaiah lead enjoys pre-med—"It was the best thing that happened to me. I finally felt comfortable. My whole life, I was looking for a home and something to give me comfort and I found that at film school. Now I find that in writing and directing."
With great music by Seth Neuffler and a bunch of other redeeming features, we can certainly look forward to Maels' next outing.
Doniphan Blair is a writer, filmmaker, graphic designer and fine artist living in Oakland and he can be reached .