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Plot Summary
Set in 1972 Brooklyn, Henry Lesser (Dylan McDermott) is the sole tenant in a rundown tenement struggling to finish a novel. His solitary pursuit of the sublime grows complicated when Willie Spearmint (Snoop Dogg), a black militant writer, moves into the building. Henry and Willie are artistic rivals and unwilling neighbors, and their uneasy peace is disturbed by the presence of Willie's white girlfriend and the landlord's attempt to evict both men and demolish the building.
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
32%- Reviews Counted: 19
- Fresh: 6
- Rotten: 13
- Average Rating: 4.8/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: The message about race relations in America conveyed by this choppy and psychologically cauterized screen adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1971 novel is dire.
Rotten: [The Tenants] keeps grimly glued to its one-note premise, relieved by nary a glimmer of humor, surprise or personality.
Rotten: Alternately tedious and bombastic, the film never achieves a consistent tone, and the characters and situations, while seemingly played on a realistic level, are neither remotely credible nor satisfyingly surreal.
Rotten: Unremittingly bleak and hopelessly outdated.
Customer Reviews
Cool
Good movie liked it alot
A sincere, complex, and chilling film
How disappointing these reviews must be (if they care) for Dylan McDermott, Danny Green and Snoop Dog).
Green's debut reminded me of early Polanski. It has wonderful long shots, texture, grim beauty, and patience. McDermott's acting was wonderful. It was a hard character to inhabit and I felt as though I understood him well, and pitied how trapped he'd made himself. The location — that building — was simply stunning. What a strange and ghostly experience. Malamud did not have a simple, uplifting, or easy view of the world. I though it was a brilliant look backward — and a faithful one at that — which made it more possible to see race relations better today. It helps connect the dots. Strange that a seasoned reviewer like Holden for the New York Times would call its view of race relations "dire" as though it is a mark against the film! It isn't. It's a mark against those who would choose to forget 1972. Not an easy year …
Snoog Dog — whose work is almost entirely unknown to me, though his in-your-face- persona is all around — was smart, subtle, and sincere about the material.
This is a good movie. It is a good movie to look at, and to experience, and to feel. What gets me is that it was made at all. I'd love to hear the backstory. Who would do this? Why? How did they feel the time was right? If I were to ever meet any of these guys, these would be my questions. And I'd love to learn the answers.
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- $12.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 2006
- © 2005 Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG III. All Rights Reserved.