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Ben
(Trevor Thomas) is a wide eyed innocent Guayanan who, following
his grandmother's death heads off to the mother country of
England where he believes he will find a better life. However,
things don't go quite as expected. He is quickly robbed and
comes under the wing of the streetwise low life Dave (Norman
Beaton)...
Black
Joy (1977) is an odd comedy from the writer/director Anthony
Simmons who had previously written and directed the Peter
Sellars film The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973) and
also worked as a director on A Touch of Frost (1992).
Adapted from the stage play by Jamal Ali, Dark days and
Light Nights, it's a story of a fish out off water stumbling
over the social moirés of his adoptive society.
Trevor
Thomas's performance as the socially inept Ben is somewhat
muted and understated, which works well against the over the
top antics of Norman Beaton's character. Trevor had appeared
in a number of genre films in the eighties, B-movies all,
including Inseminoid (1980), Sheena (1984) and
Transmutations (1985). Norman Beaton is a well known
actor with a successful television career, better known for
staring in the comedy Desmond's (1989) and the lesser
known The Fosters (1976), with a very young Lenny Henry.
He plays the part of streetwise Dave with great exuberance
and pretty much steals the film with his performance.
The supporting cast play their parts well. There are a few
surprises along the way. Miriam is played by Floella Benjamin,
better know for her work on children's television, especially
Play School. She is surprisingly good in her role,
and it's a shame that her body of movies is so small. Dawn
Hope plays Saffra, though she is most probably better known
for playing Jenny in Waiting for God (1990). Oscar
James who plays Jomo has also been in a few oddities in his
time including the sci-fi thriller Hardware (1990)
and Three Kinds of Heat (1987) with Sylvester McCoy
in his pre Doctor Who days.
The
film is an odd mix of comedy and melodrama, as we witness
Ben's transformation from virginal (in every way) country
boy to being able to stand his ground in the urban jungle
of his new home. The casual racism that is displayed throughout
much of the film might shock some, but makes the film truer
to Ben's experience for its inclusion.
The
disc has little in the way of extras, just scene selection
and the trailer. The sound is stereo but fine for what it
has to do. Picture quality is a little grainy but the film
has such internal energy that it's not really a problem.
So,
what we have is a little oddity of a film that reflects the
era in which it was made. It's not Shaft but it will
fill an entertaining 110 minutes.
Charles
Packer
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