"The Man in My Basement Review: Great Performances, Trapped Story"

Walter Mosley’s *The Man in My Basement* has always felt like a narrative best suited for the stage or the page. In novel form, its metaphors can breathe and adapt without being locked into fixed images. However, in Nadia Latif’s debut feature film, the original ambiguity hardens into fog, leading the movie to struggle with its own material rather than master it. The result is an eerie psychodrama featuring two outstanding performances that are hindered by a film that doesn’t seem to know how to progress.

Set in 1990s Sag Harbor, the story follows Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins), a man trying to hold onto his family home when a wealthy stranger named Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe) presents him with a peculiar proposition: a large sum of money in exchange for the right to live in Charles’s basement. On paper, the premise brims with tension, intertwining issues of race, class, ownership, and history within a single contract. Yet, on screen, while the idea is compelling, the execution feels constrained.

The good news is that the acting is exceptional. Hawkins delivers a superb performance, infusing Charles with quiet desperation and physical restraint, embodying a man who believes he can prevent his world from collapsing through sheer willpower. Dafoe once again demonstrates that no one portrays refined menace better; he makes courtesy sound like a trap and turns every line into a double-edged sword. When these two characters confront each other, the tension intensifies, and the film briefly ignites. Anna Diop provides additional depth in her supporting role, although the film rarely allows her to step beyond the margins.

The main challenge lies in the adaptation. Mosley’s themes—regarding inherited harm, capitalism, and complicity—require space to develop. Latif leans heavily on metaphor, but the visuals never fully translate the depth of these ideas. While the 90s backdrop and references to America’s racial tensions add texture, they feel glassy rather than vibrant, failing to pulse through the drama. Too often, the film poses significant questions without the courage or cinematic language to explore them fully.

Moreover, the basement itself serves as a key setting. Much of the movie is confined to this single room, which emphasizes the claustrophobia but also highlights the film’s limitations. What should feel like pressure instead becomes tiresome repetition. In a live theater setting, with immediate energy and emotion, the material might have resonated more effectively. On screen, it tends to linger without fully engaging.

Ultimately, "The Man in My Basement" showcases strong performances from its leads but is a muddled adaptation overall. As a piece of cinema, it rarely escapes the four walls it constructs around itself.

Final Grade : C

"The Man in My Basement" is in limtied theaters and avaibale to stream on Hulu tommorow.