The Man In My Basement begins with an intriguing proposition: if you were in a tight financial position and a rich eccentric showed up, essentially offering to solve all of your problems in one fell-swoop, how much would you question his motives?
This is the situation that Charles Blakely (Corey Hawkins) finds himself in. He’s on the cusp of losing his family home in the historical African-American Community of SAG Harbor Hills when Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe) shows up unannounced and makes him an offer he can’t refuse. In exchange for a room in the basement, Anniston will pay Charles $1K a day for his 65 day stay.
That’s enough to put a stop to the bank’s foreclosure on the unemployed man’s property…but who exactly is this rich eccentric? Why has he selected Charles? And what are his true motivations?
These are the questions that drive The Man in My Basement, the feature directorial debut of Nadia Latif, who co-wrote the screenplay with Walter Mosley. Adapted from his novel of the same name, the pair have crafted a taunt psychological thriller that pits an entitled rich white man against a down-on-his-luck desperate Black man.
As one might expect, race factors heavily into the narrative. From the generational wealth and personal history tied up in Charles’ home to the seemingly unlimited disposal income Anniston throws around, money is top of mind. This includes an important discovery that Charles and his best friend Ricky (Alien: Earth’s Jonathan Ajayi) make in the basement early in the film: a collection of valuable antiques in the basement, including historically significant masks with ties back to Africa.
Initially Charles hopes that this cache will stave off the bank and allow him to reject Anniston’s bizarre offer, but he quickly learns from antiquities broker and local Black historian Narciss Gully (Nanny’s Anna Diop) that there’s no such thing as a quick financial fix when it comes to collectors and museums. Still, the introduction of Narciss does offer Charles, who is both withdrawn and depressed, a slight glimmer of romantic hope, in addition to actively challenging his ingrained beliefs about his personal responsibility to preserve and promote Black culture.
Naturally these racial preoccupations intersect with the class elements once Anniston moves in and takes over Charles’ life. Their relationship goes through several permutations over the course of the film as the balance of power shifts back and forth, but Latif mines great dramatic tension from their battle of wills, digging deep into questions of reliability, performativity, and vulnerability as they regularly question each other.
Are either of them actually telling the other the truth? There’s an uncertainty that hangs over most of the film that guarantees the tension never truly lets up, despite the fact that The Man In The Basement is primarily driven by dialogue, not action. One of the film’s great pleasures is its refusal to descend into familiar and pedantic action in the last act; while the audience may expect (or even hope) for Charles and Anniston to come to physical blows, The Man in My Basement has more interesting – and varied – ideas on its mind.
As for performances, Dafoe is in full goblin mode here. The esteemed character actor spends nearly all of his screen time locked in Charles’ basement and, as the film progresses, Anniston becomes more and more unmoored. It’s a bravura, go-for-broke performance, giving Dafoe plenty of opportunities to ham it up and/or wax poetic in a dazzling soliloquy. Which is to say: he’s perfectly cast in the role of an eccentric loon with questionable motives.
But even when Anniston’s moustache-twirling antics threaten to descend into camp, Dafoe and Latif keep the character grounded. At times, Anniston feels like a stand-in for every oppressive white character in a Black narrative, but even as a cipher, he’s always extremely compelling. Dafoe gets to play the full spectrum of emotions here: one moment the antagonist is boasting about his extreme intellect and privilege; the next he’s sobbing and pleading like a petulant child learning a tough lesson.
Hawkins, by comparison, is the straight man who must anchor the film. While his role isn’t as showy as Dafoe’s, Charles is the more complicated of the two roles. Alternately frustrating, withdrawn, and sullen, Hawkins nevertheless finds a gentle warmth in a character who is obviously repressing most of his emotions. Charles gets angry and upset throughout the course of the film, but he’s nearly as enigmatic as his rich white rival, particularly as questions about his stability arise and he begins to see red-tinged visions of a hungry dog (the embodiment of Anniston?) watching him wherever he goes.
While the film’s initial mystery revolves around the question of who Anniston is and what his motives are, it quickly becomes clear that The Man in My Basement is just as interested in unpacking why Charles is the way he is. In the process, Latif and Mosley tackle some really heady material about poverty, race, and identity, albeit in an extremely accessible and entertaining package. Anchored by great performances by Dafoe and Hawkins, The Man in My Basement is a solid thriller that is well worth seeking out.
The Man in My Basement debuted at TIFF. It releases in select theaters on September 12 before arriving on Hulu and Disney+ this Fall.