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Genius

Stage on Screen: The Topdog Diaries

The Making of Plus One


            Bigger Thomas (Ashton Sanders) is a young African-American man living with his family in modern day Chicago. One day, Bigger receives an opportunity to interview for a job as the live-in chauffeur for the wealthy businessman Henry Dalton (Bill Camp) and his family. Bigger's friend Gus (Jerod Haynes) wants Bigger to participate in a robbery with him instead, but Bigger's girlfriend Bessie (Kiki Layne) convinces him to take the interview. The interview with Mr. Dalton goes successfully, and Bigger is introduced to Mrs. Dalton (Elizabeth Marvel) and Mary (Margaret Qualley), Mr. Dalton's radical and liberal, left-wing daughter.That night, Bigger drives Mary to a political meeting led by her boyfriend, Jan Erlone (Nick Robinson). Afterward, Jan and Mary take Bigger out to a local club that Bigger frequents, and the three become friends. As Bigger grows closer to Jan and Mary, he has a falling out with Gus. Bigger failed to show up for the robbery he promised he would participate in, leaving Gus to abandon it. Gus accuses Bigger of succumbing to the white upper-class stereotypes he himself had shown disdain for. After attending an orchestra with Mary and Jan, Bigger retreats to his room to find an expensive album he had wished to purchase gifted to him by Mary. In thanks, Bigger obtains drugs for Mary and Jan to take at a party.At the party, Mary and Jan get into an argument after Jan discovers Mary making out with another guy. Bigger drives Mary home and goes to his room. However Mary, who is experiencing strong side effects from the drugs, is dancing around outside half-dressed and shouting. Bigger, fearing he will lose his job if Mary is discovered like this by her parents, helps Mary to her room. Mrs. Dalton is awakened by the noise and begins to call out to Mary. Bigger attempts to calm Mary down to no avail and proceeds to hold a pillow over her face to stop the noise. After Mrs. Dalton returns to her room, Bigger discovers that he has accidentally smothered Mary to death. He then drags Mary's body to the furnace room in the basement and cremates it.The next day, Bigger is interviewed by two police detectives, named Calhoun and Rogers, who have been hired by Mr. Dalton to find his missing daughter. Jan, however, is initially the prime suspect in Mary's disappearance until one of Mary's pieces of jewelry is found in the furnace by another of Mr. Dalton's staff, forcing Bigger to flee.As police put out a city-wide warrant for Bigger's arrest, he goes into hiding. He privately meets up with Jan, who tells Bigger that he should turn himself in. However, Bigger refuses, aware that he will not receive a fair trial or any fair treatment by the racist police. Similarly, Bessie, who has been hiding Bigger, pleads with him to turn himself in too. Bigger convinces Bessie to run away with him instead, and takes her to an abandoned building where they spend the night.The next morning, Bessie and Bigger have an argument in which Bigger indirectly confesses to murdering Mary. Upon further argument, Bigger begins to strangle Bessie to death but comes to his senses and stops himself. Bessie runs away in fear. The police arrive, having been alerted to Bigger's whereabouts by some passersby who spotted Bigger looking out a window of the building. The police confront Bigger, who is turned away with his hands in his jacket pockets. Turning around, Bigger begins to take his hands out of his pockets. The police shoot and kill him, mistakenly believing that he had a gun in his hand.
    

Native Son


            In Manhattan, New York City, Judy, also known as Girl 6 (Theresa Randle), is at a very awkward audition with Quentin Tarantino. Judy seems to grin and bear it. Tarantino reveals that the film Judy is auditioning for is "the greatest romantic, African-American film ever made. Directed by me, of course." However, Judy grows suspicious of the audition, when "Q.T.", tells her that "Wesley, Denzel, and Fishburne" are signed up to play supporting roles. Judy seems to keep her cool until it is requested that she remove her blouse so "Q.T." and his assistant can see her breasts. She reluctantly complies, but not for long. She walks out on the audition.Her agent (John Turturro) is furious. Having worked hard to get Judy her audition with such a prestigious director, he quickly and angrily drops her from his roster of clients. Her melodramatic acting coach (Susan Batson) is also extremely displeased. When Judy tells her why she did not go through with the audition, the acting coach still does not see any reason why Judy should have walked out. This, topped with the fact that Judy has not paid her rent in a very long while, forces her to drop Judy from her roster of clients as well.Now unable to secure acting work, Judy must find a way to make ends meet. She tries a number of jobs: passing out fliers, waiting tables at a club, etc. At one point she agrees to be an extra on a movie set. However, it is cold and unpleasant, as is the director. Judy is sick with a cold, and still trying to secure work. While reading a newspaper, she sees an ad for a "friendly phone line", as well as one with the headline, "mo money, mo money, mo money". She circles them both.This brings her to a meeting at a phone sex office. She meets the boss (Jenifer Lewis), who seems to be an assertive but friendly woman. The two click and the "audition" goes over just fine. The boss, now known as Lil, says that although she can't promise anything, she'll put in the good word for Judy. Judy also goes to another meeting, but the boss there wants her to do more visually related work, so she declines. Then, she attends another meeting, at a strip club/phone sex line with a relaxed boss (Madonna). She would take the job, but the content allowed for on-line discussion is a bit too heavy for her taste. She decides to stick to her original application with Lil.We now look in on Judy's dissolved relationship with her kleptomaniac ex-husband (Isaiah Washington), as well as her relationship with her baseball-memorabilia obsessed best friend, Jimmy (Spike Lee). Jimmy is reliant on his collection for money, but until it accumulates enough age to be worth money, he gets his rent money from Judy.Throughout the film, the phone sex line, having been secured at Lil's company, begins to take its mental toll on the newly christened Girl 6. She has to pretend to be white for all her clients unless they specifically request a black girl. She trusts her clients too much at times, and even agrees to meet one of her callers at Coney Island, but when he sees that she is not white he passes by her bench and ignores her when she calls out to him and pretends he isn't the man she was meeting. It is visible to everybody, especially Lil and Jimmy, that Judy is having a breakdown. The movie culminates in a dark sequence in which she enters a snuff fantasy with a caller (Michael Imperioli). It becomes serious when she discovers the caller knows where she lives. Running upstairs for shelter with Jimmy, she decides that it is time to leave the phone sex career behind and get her acting career in motion. Finally reconciling with her ex, she decides to move to Los Angeles.Oddly enough once in California, Judy attends another audition in which she experiences the same problem as the one with "Q.T." She again walks out. However, it is clear that Girl 6 has reclaimed her dignity, and will find work sooner or later. On that hopeful note, the film comes to a close.
    

Suzan-Lori Parks

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