Chris Rock’s Misty Green opened in theaters Friday, two weeks after its New York Film Festival premiere, where it marked his fourth feature as writer-director and showcased British actor Rosalind Eleazar in the lead. Critics agree on Eleazar’s performance. They split on the film around her.
Eleazar plays Misty, a once-rising Hollywood actress whose career has stalled. Her chance at a second act arrives when Jordan, a director she once betrayed (Rock), moves into her building to prepare a stage production of Dreamgirls. Her bipolar brother, her one link to a childhood the film leaves vague, helps push her toward a pivotal decision in the third act.
Eleazar told the festival audience she found Misty hard to embrace. “She’s so incredibly complicated and contradictory,” she said, adding that the character’s self-destructive streak keeps viewers at a distance. She also argued that Misty has talent, but acting may not be the right life for her.
Rock has framed the film as a study of Hollywood’s soul-sucking effect and of who earns redemption there. One review called it a slice-of-life picture that doubles as a bitter farewell to Los Angeles. The Associated Press placed it among Rock’s best work and said Eleazar turns a star-seeking part into a star-making one.
Other critics held back. One reviewer called it imperfect but compelling, praising Eleazar while judging Rock miscast. Another labeled it messy and said Rock does his best work by stepping aside. The harshest verdict came from a critic who said the film gives Misty no interior life and serves mainly as an outlet for Rock’s worst impulses. That review said the narrative lacks respect for her as a woman.
The supporting cast is deep. Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya and Anna Kendrick appear alongside Rock. Topher Grace, Anthony Anderson, Amy Landecker, Alexandra Shipp and Ice-T also star.
The film’s path to theaters ran through Canada first. Eleazar received a TIFF Tribute Performer Award on Sept. 13. The film then screened in the New York Film Festival’s Main Slate on Sept. 26. It is playing exclusively in theaters.
