The strong aesthetic that drives writer/director Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us made it a festival standout for me. With awesome animated opening credits and a soul-driven score (credited to The Roots) you know this lady has vision, and I respect that kind of attention to detail.

The scene opens on Philly in ‘76 in a Black Panther neighborhood where Patricia is raising her daughter Iris. With her suits and lawyer boyfriend Patricia seems to have turned a corner from her Panther days. But the mysteries of the past that hang on her shoulders and in her tense silences, heavy as lead, let you know there’s going to be trouble.

Turns out trouble’s named Marcus. His return to the hood after some years is met with aggression by the reigning cat DoRight. It seems that Marcus snitched on Iris’ father and got him killed by the police and no one has forgiven that betrayal — except Patricia, who not only defends Marcus but takes him into her home, prompting a confused Iris to push for the truth about her father’s death. They hold her at bay and manage a shaky domesticity for a minute, but when Patricia’s fuckup nephew Jimmy starts running with the Panthers the past comes to collect.

Hamilton never overplays her hand, letting the film build quietly to violent confrontation. Instead she weaves archival footage of the Panthers and soul beats through those quieter moments like a hit of adrenaline (the era also comes alive in the warm browns of summer, the bluejeans, and the Caddies). The film’s conclusion works because we’ve been waiting for the release. Patricia’s reticence and cold beauty only make sense when we see her battle the desires that brought her grief. She can still wild out, protecting Iris like a lioness — or a Panther.

For more on the film visit the official website