"QUEEN OF GLORY" // TRIBECA 2021
The soft and understated QUEEN OF GLORY comes from the mind of Nana Mensah, who also stars and directs. It's a delicate and tender film, one that explores loss within the cultural expectation of family. Mensah plays Sarah, a doctorial scientist at Columbia University. She's thriving, but she's also caught up in an affair with her married colleague. Under his spell, she's ready to give it all up and move to Ohio, so that she can be with him (she's sure that he's going to leave his wife). Things begin to get complicated when her mother suddenly passes away. So, Sarah begins to take care of her mother's affairs, confident that she'll be able to wrap everything up and move on to Ohio. However, as most things, it just isn't that easy.
Her mother wanted to be cremated but the elders of her Ghanaian community want a traditional send off. So what started off as a fairly easy funeral arrangement turns into a week-long affair with her extended family. On top of that, she has to settle her mother's affairs, which includes figuring out what to do with a Christian bookstore that her mother owned and ran, complete with one employee named Pitt (Meeko Gattuso), a tattooed ex-con who's kind to her and fiercely loyal to her late mother. Sarah's life is further complicated with her visiting father Goodwin (Oberon KA Adjepong), who lives in Ghana and now that he's back constantly makes his daughter feel uncomfortablen and less than. The one true positive thing to come out of this is her new friendship with Pitt, though he doesn't realize that she's secretly selling his only source of income out from under him.
Quietly heartbreaking and equally heartwarming, QUEEN OF GLORY sneaks up on you and covers you in a beautiful and fulfilling way. Nana Mensah has written and directed a lovely film. She's also fantastic in the lead role of Sarah, softly anchoring the film with a stirring and strong performance. The supporting cast are all full of standouts as well, from Gattuso's gentle turn as the only employee in her Mother's bookstore to Anya Migdal's childhood friend and neighbor. The Bronx settling is wonderfully realized and the film moves with a gentle beauty, marking Mensah with a powerful directing debut and an exciting new talent to follow.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Nana Mensah STARRING Nana Mensah, Meeko Gattuso, Oberon KA Adjepong, Adam Leon, Anya Migdal SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: QUEEN OF GLORY