Danielle Solzman
The Day Shall Come may be a thrilling satirical look at America’s law enforcement community but it just might leave viewers angry.
Set in Miami, Moses Al Shabaz (Marchánt Davis) runs The Star of Six Farm with his wife Venus (Danielle Brooks). Shabaz has big dreams ahead for the mission including overthrowing the American government. Him and what army? Oh, right–his army of four. This is an army that includes Farmer X (Malcolm Mays), Farmer Africa (Andrel McPherson), and Evangeliste (Curtiss Cook Jr.). Meanwhile, the Farm is about to be evicted if they don’t get their money situation together. Shabaz does what he must in order to obtain some $50K for his revolution. When Nur Ad-din (Pej Vahdat) does approach him with an offer to sell some guns, Shabaz is less than forthright about his cause. What Shabaz doesn’t know is that Nur is working as an FBI informant with Reza (Kayvan Novak).
Andy Mudd (Dennis O’Hare) heads up the local FBI office. He needs this case after the previous case fell apart under his command. Seriously. How can anybody be so afraid of a number? Meanwhile, top agent Kendra Glack (Anna Kendrick) exploits Shabaz by any means necessary. All she wants out of this is a promotion. She provides Shabaz with fake nukes. Unfortunately, the police don’t know this and think they’re real. Shabaz is completely unaware that the FBI is on his tail. They’re basically making him into a domestic terrorist. Aside from the fact that he wants to overthrow the government, he’s not really behaving like a terrorist. Again, he only has an army of four people! Everything comes to a complete standstill when Shabaz arrives at a restaurant to celebrate daughter Rosa’s (Calah Lane) birthday.
When the film starts, the screen displays a comment that it’s based on 100 true stories. You might think it’s a joke but it’s not. Unfortunately, the end credits alone confirm our worst fears. These people could do a crappy job and still manage to get elected or end up in high-ranking government positions. In other words, we’re fucked beyond fucked. But please tell me something I don’t already know.
The law enforcement officers come off as being completely inept when it comes to their job. Hell, this is a film that delivers a cat-and-mouse game but with a catch. The catch being that the FBI is creating a terrorist. Shouldn’t we actually be catching terrorists?!? This film would be completely absurd if it weren’t already true! The names might be changed but the fact of the matter is that these are real people. It’s even more absurd when you think about it because this film draws from real events. I still can’t get over this particular piece of information.
Chris Morris absolutely delivers here. I love what the actors bring to their performances. Anna Kendrick has a witty way of portraying Kendra but I’ve come to expect nothing less from the actress over the years. Marchánt Davis is the real deal and I look forward to seeing the work he puts out in the future. Jim Gaffigan doesn’t have much if any screen time but the comedian makes the best of it.
If spot-on satirical thriller The Day Shall Come presents how members of the law enforcement community behave, America is screwed.
DIRECTOR: Chris Morris
SCREENWRITER: Chris Morris and Jesse Armstrong
CAST: Marchánt Davis, Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks, Andrel McPherson, Malcolm Mays, Curtiss Cook Jr., Denis O’Hare, Kayvan Novak, James Adomian, Pej Vahdat, Jim Gaffigan
