The film “The Lady tells the viewer about the events taking place in the English elite educational institution known as Ancaster. Previously, a gallows from Salem times was located on the site of the school. It served as a monstrous reminder of what had happened here in the past. Once upon a time, Margaret Millet was hanged here, who was accused of witchcraft and hanged. Most of the students believe that Ancaster is actually a cursed place.
The main characters are three black women. Gail Bishop is one of them. She is known as the first black woman to achieve the title of “Master” in a school dorm building. It would seem that changes should have taken place in her life, but Gail had no idea that monstrous things could happen soon.
In addition, the film tells about the freshman Jasmine Moore, who is also an African-American girl. By nature, she is a very optimistic and active person, who was entangled in a maelstrom of unexpected events. Upon arrival at the hostel, Jasmine checks into room 302, where her white neighbor Amelia lives. The problem is that this room was once occupied by Louise Wicks, who committed suicide within the walls of an educational institution back in 1965.
The Lady is the debut work of director Mariama Diallo. However, the film has another name – “Master”. True, this does not play a special role, since it does not carry any semantic load.
Mariama tried to create a serious picture in the shell of a thriller and choose a classic title appropriate for its time – thoughtful and concise. Unfortunately, the film does not claim this status. The picture was enthusiastically received by critics, but ordinary moviegoers expressed a mixed reaction. Perhaps this fact is explained by the fear of the masters of the pen to offend the black audience, since the picture positioned itself as a serious work on the topic of inclusive education of “blacks” among whites, as well as racial self-identification.
Audiences expecting a horror movie that was all about a campus-dwelling ghost will only be disappointed. In the end, “Mistress” is just a long-winded and slow-paced narrative that can be easily confused. Elements of mysticism are reduced to only a few visions of the main character. Director Mariama Diallo tried to recreate a serious social conflict, which in fact turned out to be far-fetched.
Meaning of the film Mrs.
The author tried to recreate the intersection of two time lines – our days and 1965, but it turned out to be banal not so skillfully. Of course, the film is trying to talk about discrimination against African Americans in modern society and prove that essentially nothing has changed.
Freshman Jasmine Moore initially gets along with her new neighbor Amelia and even gets to know her friends. During the party, Jasmine’s new acquaintances ask her to clean up her spilled drinks and at the same time do not return the money for the pizza. On the one hand, this can be called a promise to racial discrimination, but most likely the principle of spoiled Amelia’s rich friends who are used to living at the expense of others works here.
However, you can notice another feature in this plot point of the picture, when there is a conflict between Jasmine and the newly-minted roommate. Mariama Diallo is trying to frame such an event as a race clash against a backdrop of racism. True, the main reason for the conflict is the fact that Amelia’s lover kissed Jasmine. This should be taken more as a clash of interests.
Raise questions and the fact that the victim of racism for the most part here was not Jasmine, but an ordinary professor of English Liv Beckman. Only on the basis of her visions does the girl conclude that the teacher deliberately lowers her grades for her subject. The lawsuit that Jasmine filed against Mrs. Liv Beckman puts an end to his future career.
In America, which is a country of great multi-cultural diversity. It is hard to believe that in the USA, where the head of state was a black president, there is racism. If it is found somewhere, it is only among the inner layer of certain social groups.
The drama shown to the viewer does not show any philosophical idea that could somehow justify the dull and slow-paced narrative. Hollywood mainstream can be anything but boring. The whole point of the film is drowned in a scrap of ideas that could not be fully revealed.
Hiding behind a mystical-surrealistic plot, Mariama Diallo realizes her inferiority complex through imaginary racism. The director acted more for the sake of political correctness, and not for the actual problems of modern society. Perhaps the director is stuck in the time when the prohibition of racial segregation was not signed by the government of Lyndon Johnson.
