Coloring Fast While Shading Slow - A Review of Fast Color, directed by Julia Hart
/Written by O'Brian Gunn
Movie poster for Fast Color.
Most movies with superheroes and characters with superhuman abilities often focus on “the greater good,” using your abilities to save other people and “make a difference.” And most of those movies focus on white, male characters. The fact that 2018’s Fast Color features a cast of supernaturally powered black women who aren’t out to save the world immediately caught my interest. Does director Julia Hart bring a much-needed shakeup to the superhero movie genre?
Fast Color opens with the revelation that, for a reason that’s never really explained, it hasn’t rained in eight years - which has led to a drought and high water prices. From there, the film cuts to main character Ruth, who flees from a seemingly abandoned building with wrists bound with rope. Ruth has seizures that cause violent earthquakes, forcing her to remain on the run and tuck herself away in locations where her erratic powers won’t harm anyone. I got the impression that Ruth is a hyper-vigilant, cautious woman, which is one reason why I was utterly baffled when she willingly got into the car of a stranger she met at a diner.
Three generations.
From there, Ruth makes her way back home to lay low with her mother, Bo, and daughter, Lila, both of whom she hasn’t seen in years. In fact, Ruth’s daughter has no idea who she is when the two first meet. The rest of the movie centers on Ruth reconnecting with her mother and daughter, trying to control her seizures, and remaining hidden from the unnamed organization that wants to capture her to (of course) study her abilities.
As usual, I don’t want to step into spoiler territory, so I’ll refrain from diving too deeply into the plot. I will say I was absolutely loving the film’s family angle, especially because all three women shared the same abilities and use it quite differently from each other. The exploration really cracked open the possibilities of films featuring characters with superhuman/supernatural abilities. I also liked the real-world issues the film utilized, such as the trials and tribulations of motherhood, the struggle involved with finding a purpose for your natural gifts, attempting to reconnect with your family, and identity. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, and Saniyya Sidney all do a great job when they’re on screen. It was when the film shifted to the scientists and their attempts to locate Ruth that the narrative drifted into stereotypical territory.
“If something’s broken...”
Overall, Fast Color is a decent movie that makes a valiant effort to try something new. It’s when it relies on long-standing, uninspired tropes that the colors start to slow and bleed on the screen. I’d like to see the narrative expanded into a TV show, to learn more about the family’s shared ability and Ruth’s life when she ran away from home and when she had Lila. That’s why I was delighted to learn that the movie is being turned into an Amazon TV show, one produced by Viola Davis, who’s also adapting Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed for a show on Amazon. Apparently, Davis is also a fan of narratives featuring Black women with supernatural abilities. Hopefully, she and everyone else attached to the Fast Color show will take their time to paint a complete picture that delights the senses and speaks to the soul in a way that only black sheros can.
Runtime: 102 minutes
Recommend Buy New, Rent/Stream or Skip: Definitely rent or stream for the main actresses alone (currently available on Amazon Prime and Hulu)
Cover for Bone: The Complete Epic.
Up Next: Bone, a comic book series written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, is the story of three cartoon cousins and their shared (and separate) adventures after being chased out of Boneville. Away from home, they encounter a forest valley brimming with enemies, friends, magic, dragons, monsters, talking animals, and legends. Are they the main characters of the Disney-esque story, or the supporting cast? Will they find their way back home, or make a new home with their found family?