Life and Nothing More

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Audience Member An invitation to the truth, an unshakably honest film. Perfection. Williams Gives an amazing performance, every second was powerful and real. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member The independent, emotional drama, âLife and Nothing Moreâ? is an outstanding piece of work by Antonio Mendez Esparza. It shows the life of an African American family living in North Florida. The hardships this family faces are realistic and relatable. The title of this film honestly couldnâ(TM)t be a better way to explain the film. I really enjoyed watching this film and highly suggest others to give it a watch! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Life and Nothing More is a full-bodied, raw look at family, race and the working class in America today. The film presents the topics of racial profiling, the 2016 election, and the challenges of being a single mother while working for minimum wage. While these problems are persistent throughout the film, they are largely in the background as the main goal of the film is to present the lives of the characters as they are lived moment to moment. These moments were filled with nuanced performances from the cast that explore the relationships between the characters. The talented actors in this film gave excellent performances but the story line and arc of the heroes is what gives the film life. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member In a realm of movie releases that revolve around nothing but heroes defeating villains, it is very refreshing to see a film do something inherently different. âLife and Nothing Moreâ? is not just the title, but a nod to Antonio Mendez Esparzaâ(TM)s sophomore productionâ(TM)s effectiveness of taking a neutral look into the lives of a family trying to make ends meet. A single mother paired with her youngest daughter and teenage son who is in need of avoiding the path of his imprisoned father, we witness a day by day flow that feels slow but by the end is the sole exception of how beautiful the message from Esparza is translated to audience members. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Raw, real and necessary, it is understandable why Variety ranked Life and Nothing More as one of its Best Films of 2018. Life and Nothing More is a must-see film for todayâ(TM)s day and age as it shows an inside look on the life of a modern black family. The familyâ(TM)s mother Regina tries her best every day to work hard and provide for her teenage son Andrew and young daughter Ryâ(TM)nesia while their father is stuck serving time in prison. This fast-paced and unpredictable life they live is made even more difficult as Andrew finds himself in getting into trouble more often then he should. In response, Regina must teach Andrew to learn from these mistakes and do better in the future, so he doesnâ(TM)t go down the wrong path like his father. This story about a loving mother trying her best to support their family despite the daily frustrations and obstacles they face. Life and Nothing More is an impressively captured film that made for a moving and satisfying watch. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Life and Nothing More is a beautiful slice of life/coming of age film with an excellence in direction and cinematography that give an emotionally rich look inside the relationship between a mother and son. Life and Nothing More follows a young boy, Andrew, in Tallahassee trying to take care of his litter sister, make friends while staying away from bad influences at school, try to reconnect with his father currently serving time in state prison, and mainly trying to stay away from jail himself. While at the same time, the film also follows his mother who works all day everyday trying to support her son and daughter, while also raising and being there for them. The film excels at capturing the often-tumultuous relationship between a mother and son who are both under stress and also unable to fully understand/communicate with one another. The film actually revolves around misunderstanding, both from within the family unit and out as the audience watches several people (councilor, therapist, teachers) try to talk to Andrew but struggle to even scratch the surface of his problems and whatâ(TM)s going on in his mind and back at home. For a film to make you feel like you have an emotional connection with a character is a large feat, but for a film to do that with multiple characters is an even larger one. While watching, I often found myself commenting on the lack of communication between the mother and son (and by commenting I mean shouting in my mind/writhing in my seat in frustration over why they canâ(TM)t just talk to one another about whatâ(TM)s really on their minds and going on in their lives), yet the misunderstanding in that relationship is something I definitely experienced growing up and related to all too heavily in retrospect upon completion of the film. Now, while all of this may sound great and compelling, I have yet to introduce the most impressive factor of this entire film. Incredible direction and cinematography, beautiful portrayal of a mother and son relationship, and an audience connection with the two main characters was all made possible even while using non-actors in the film. Regina Williams, portraying Regina in the film, and Andrew Bleechington, portraying Andrew, have only Life and Nothing More to make up their list of acting credits, but that did not stop them from delivering an incredible performance. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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