Direction: Phillip Youmans
Country: USA
For a drama written and directed by a 17-year-old, Burning Cane has plenty of genuine ambition, but that’s not everything. New Orleans-born African-American Phillip Youmans, even if occasionally reckless when wielding the handheld camera, shows proficiency in setting the mood that best allows him to express his vision on themes like faith, alcoholism, child negligence, domestic violence, and prevarication.
Set in rural Louisiana, the story is filled with strong, well-shaped characters that connect with one another, whether physically or mentally. The pivotal figure here is Helen (Karen Kaia Livers), a woman of faith who laments the family dog’s mange before cut up a chicken with a small kitchen axe while resting a cigarette on her lips. Her painful physical limitations are not what hurries her the most. It’s her alcoholic son, Daniel (Dominique McClellan), who got fired from work for arriving drunk and starting a fight. The latter’s hard-working wife, Sherry (Emyri Crutchfield), supports the family, and has no idea that Daniel, visibly sick and depressed, gives whiskey to their little only son, the silent Jeremiah (Braelyn Kelly), while looking after him.
Apart from this scenario, there’s Reverend Tillman (Wendell Pierce), whose speeches about materialism, the evil ways, and the necessity of building relationships of love are fervently eloquent. However, he undergoes a crisis of faith after his wife's death, and drowns himself in liquor. He often relies on Helen to help him getting home.
The young Youmans weaves an inextricable web, where the ugly aspects of this isolated American community distressingly emerge. However, the inexperience ended up spoiling what would have been a great debut if better ideas had flown to prevent an unsatisfactory, abrupt finale.
Led by note-perfect performances, Burning Cane presents two distinct halves with totally different weights. The downside of it is that the film decreases in fascination. Still recommended, though.
