A Thousand and One movie review (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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A Thousand and One movie review (2023) | Roger Ebert (1)

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A.V. Rockwell’s “A Thousand and One” was the somewhat surprising winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance a couple of months ago, a trophy taken home by major movies like “CODA” and “Whiplash” in past years. While other films were considered frontrunners, it feels like Rockwell’s heartfelt drama took the prize largely because of the sheer force of its central performance, a true breakout for Teyana Taylor. It’s easily one of the best performances so far this year, one of those turns in which you have to remind yourself that you’re watching an actress—that’s how completely she fades into the character, a woman who makes some tough decisions to protect her son. Taylor has a remarkable ability to be present in a scene, responding as if she’s interacting in the moment, not reciting rehearsed lines or blocked movement. She's organic in a way that elevates a script that has some significant structural problems and battles credulity in the final act. She's so good that, by that time, you won’t care. You’ll be too invested in her story to question where it ends.

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Taylor’s Inez is a New York resident returning from Rikers Island when the film opens. Only 22 years old, she carries herself with the determination of someone who has already lived so much life and knows what she needs to get through this tough world. What she needs more than ever is her son Terry (played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross at 6, 13, and 17, respectively), but he’s been in the foster system while Inez was behind bars. When six-year-old Terry has an accident that lands him in the hospital, Inez makes the impulsive but understandable decision to take him home. Who could possibly raise him better? And what’s one more kid out of a broken foster system, one that damaged Inez too?

Inez forces Terry to change his name and not tell anyone about his background. And yet “A Thousand and One” is less of a thriller than that synopsis might suggest. Inez and Terry share a secret that defines their relationship, something that bonds them as their NY neighborhood shifts and changes around them over the ‘90s. Rockwell regularly uses sound bites and news items to convey the energy of NYC in this era and comments on the gentrifying world around Inez. It gives her arc the tenor of a survival story by making her the rock-solid center of a world that spins around her. She’s not on a set. She’s in the real world that’s zipping by her as she holds so tightly to her child.

Inez eventually marries a man named Lucky, played byWilliam Catlett. But the film centers on the Inez/Terry dynamic, givingthe traditional mother/son drama a new structure byemphasizing how quickly it could be taken away. Without turning it into a genre piece, the decision that Inez makes and the secret that Terry has to hide creates a symbolic urgency totheir relationship. Every mother worries their son could be taken away by violence or tragedy, but Inez has to raise her boy in a world where that threat is more immediate. We have seen dozens of stories about single mothers who overcome adversity, but the narrative here makes it feel new again as we feel Inez’s tough decisions and how they shape Terry’s worldview.

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Much of that veracity collapses in a final act I’m not sure the film needs. Without spoiling, there’s another secret in Inez and Terry’s life that completely recasts everything that came before in a different light, and the narrative decision pushed me out of a story that had felt so intimate for so long. The movie doesn’t need a twist. It’s done so much to make Inez, Terry, and the world they inhabit feel real; it's a splash of cold water to be reminded this is a melodrama, and maybe always was. The final scenes are manipulative in a fashion that the movie otherwise defies for most of its runtime.

However, Teyana Taylor holds her head high through it all. Even as the film falters narratively, she’s a force of nature embodying a person more than just playing a role. She captures the soul of a woman who knows her son needs her to navigate this dangerous world. And that she needs him too.

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Film Credits

A Thousand and One movie review (2023) | Roger Ebert (9)

A Thousand and One (2023)

Rated Rfor language.

116 minutes

Cast

Teyana Tayloras Inez

William Catlettas Lucky

Josiah Crossas Terry

Aven Courtneyas Terry (Age 13)

Aaron Kingsley Adetolaas Terry (Age 6)

Terri Abneyas Kim Jones

Delissa Reynoldsas Mrs. Jones

Amelia Workmanas Anita Tucker

Adriane Lenoxas Miss Annie

Gavin Schlosseras Pea (Age 6)

Jolly Swagas Pea (Age 13)

Azza Elas Simone (Age 14)

Alicia Pilgrimas Simone

Jennean Farmeras Ms. Janie (Foster Mom)

Kal-El Whiteas Shawn (Foster Brother)

Jamier Williamsas Michael H. (Foster Brother)

Director

  • A.V. Rockwell

Writer

  • A.V. Rockwell

Cinematographer

  • Eric Yue

Editor

  • Sabine Hoffman
  • Kristan Sprague

Composer

  • Gary Gunn

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A Thousand and One movie review (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

FAQs

A Thousand and One movie review (2023) | Roger Ebert? ›

However, Teyana Taylor holds her head high through it all. Even as the film falters narratively, she's a force of nature embodying a person more than just playing a role. She captures the soul of a woman who knows her son needs her to navigate this dangerous world. And that she needs him too.

Is A Thousand and One worth watching? ›

great acting by Teyana. great ending suspense Content collapsed. Teyana Taylor gives a spectacular heart gripping performance as a mom trying to do the best she can for her son.

What is the meaning behind the movie A Thousand and One? ›

In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Rockwell says that the point of A Thousand and One is to show "how hard it is to keep Black families together, and the different things that try to rip us apart." Through Inez, Terry, and Lucky, that message is expertly translated to the screen, with each character experiencing ...

Is A Thousand and One a true story? ›

"A Thousand and One" Isn't a True Story, but It Pulls From Writer-Director A.V. Rockwell's Experiences - IMDb. Gritty, raw, and moving, "A Thousand and One" is already generating buzz among critics for its depiction of a mother and son struggling to survive in an increasingly gentrified and evolving New York City.

Where did Inez go at the end of A Thousand and One? ›

Terry And Inez Split So Inez Does Not Go To Jail

She flees to a friend's home and when everything calms down, she returns to her home to collect her things before running one last time. There she runs into Terry and the non-biological mother and son have a last conversation.

Why did Inez kidnap Terry? ›

Inez is energetic and resourceful; while housed in a shelter, she gets freelance work doing hair. Believing that Terry has been neglected and mistreated in foster care, she kidnaps him and takes him to Harlem.

What is the plot of A Thousand and One? ›

The film stars Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, and Aaron Kingsley Adetola. Set between the 1990s and 2000s, it focuses on a single mother who decides to kidnap her son out of the foster care system to raise him herself, as the two struggle with life in a constantly changing New York City.

Does Inez go to jail? ›

Inez and Lucky both spend time in prison, though it's never mentioned why. Inez also claims she's been to jail multiple times because of Lucky. Inez can act immaturely and lose her temper. Sometimes, it's a pride issue, but more often, it's caused by her own insecurities.

Did A Thousand and One win any awards? ›

A.V. Rockwell's feature debut A Thousand and One won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

What does the idiom thousand and one mean? ›

phrase. You can use expressions such as a hundred and one, a thousand and one, and a million and one to emphasize that you are talking about a large number of things or people.

What happened to Lucky in the movie A Thousand and One? ›

While looking for a job to scrape up some extra cash as he ponders schools, his fake documents are exposed, throwing their family into a whirlwind. To makes matters worse, all of this happens while Lucky slowly dies from cancer. The biggest payoff in "A Thousand and One" is that Inez isn't Terry's biological mother.

Why is A Thousand and One called that? ›

This is also where we learn the double meaning of the film's title; as much as "A Thousand and One" refers to the never-ending obstacles Inez must overcome in her efforts to care for Terry, it is also their apartment's literal address (which is missing a dash).

Where was A Thousand and One filmed? ›

Some of the film was shot in Brooklyn, because we had to go to places like Brownsville or East New York to find streets that felt untouched from the '90s. We also tried to designate different time periods by colors. With the '90s, we wanted a red or warm palette, so we scouted locations with those tones.

Who was Terry's mother in A Thousand and One? ›

In her feature-length debut, writer-director A.V. Rockwell helms this love letter to mothers. Inez (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her 6-year-old son, Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola), from the foster care system to restart their life together, ultimately reclaiming their sense of home and family.

How old is Inez in A Thousand and One? ›

A Thousand and One begins in 1994, shortly before a 22-year-old woman named Inez is released from Rikers Island.

What happens at the end of the movie A Thousand Words? ›

Jack and Caroline get back together, with Jack buying the family-friendly house Caroline asked for earlier, and the tree is in their front yard. He does not get his job back (Aaron was promoted to Jack's old position), but he writes a book about his experience, called A Thousand Words, and gets Aaron to make the deal.

Is it worth watching the one and only? ›

It's still not a drama that impresses me or excites me, and I don't know if I would've kept watching it if it weren't for Bai Lu, but I have to say that the main couple does grow on you. Their story is about forbidden love, yearning, and sexual tension, and they pull that all off well in the scenes they have together.

Is 1001 a good movie? ›

Rockwell maintains simmering tension beneath a rock-solid character-driven story... Taylor is the secret weapon here. She's gorgeous and ferocious and never hits a false note. Overall, A Thousand and One is a solid film, with a good script, particularly from a dialogue standpoint.

Is it worth watching you show? ›

You is a neat inversion of the usual psychopath and serial killer thriller... Fresh score. Fresh score. The series excels at playing with and subverting audience expectations by blending the horrors of thrillers with rom-com beats to create an wildly addictive - and sometimes uncomfortable - watch.

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