'The Outside Story': Brian Tyree Henry Shines As Romantic Lead [Review]

Since 2017 Brian Tyree Henry has shown a good nose for great films: From the tidy indie “Crown Heights” to the blockbuster hit “Godzilla vs. Kong,”— his supporting performances often shine brightly in these packed ensembles. But directors rarely afford the charming, jovial actor with the leading roles his talent so richly deserves. In his feature directorial debut, the modest comedy “The Outside Story,” Casimir Nozkowski allows Henry to stretch his romantic muscles for a brisk tale of jealousy, missed chances, and rediscovering the best life can offer.

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Henry plays Charles Young, a film editor for TCM who’s working on a tribute for the fictional director Gardner St James. Charles used to be a documentary filmmaker. Posters for “The Thin Blue Line” and “I Am Not Your Negro” adorn his walls. Now he develops in memoriam videos for currently living entertainers in anticipation of their deaths. At times, in the case of St James, Charles can forecast a celebrity’s passing. In other moments he’s unable to foresee the tragedy. On this day an unexpected setback has the editor feeling miserable. It’s caused the empty tin carryout bowls to pile up in his apartment, the packing boxes to be piled around him, and Charles to cocoon his great frame demurely, brokenly, behind a cardigan. His ex-girlfriend Isha (Sonequa Martin-Green) is moving out.

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We don’t see much of Isha, but we hear all about her. While Charles’ neighbors barely remember him, especially the gay fourth-floor tenet Andre (Michael Cyril Creighton); Elena (Olivia Edward), a little girl who practices a piano recital on the floor above; and the pregnant woman occupying the adjacent building’s stoop. They all know Isha. Even the couple’s delivery guy from the local Mexican restaurant (Jordan Carlos) holds her in high regard (she always tips well). None of these characters are deeply sketched. Rather they exemplify Charles’ disconnect from his small corner of Brooklyn and his need to re-enter the world.

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Charles does immerse himself in the world again, but not in the way he expected. He accidentally locks himself out of his apartment. His predicament creates a few obstacles: He has no shoes on, only a dollar in cash on him, and most importantly, his boss is breathing down his neck for a St James tribute that’s only available on his desktop. Few performers can act out frustration without exhibiting total anger like Henry can. He combines facial sight gags, impatient tsks, and a rapid speech patter for sarcastic effect as a pesky traffic cop (Sunita Mani) overzealously tickets him for a bevy of minor infractions. Likewise Henry’s brief interactions with an annoyed Andre, who’s preoccupied in a ménage a trois with two recently arrived tourists from Oslo, offer equally big laughs.

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The weak points in any relationship are usually apparent from the jump. And we see the fissures between Charles and Isha very early on. In between Charles’ run-ins with his little-known neighbors, he remembers how he first met Isha. The house-party flashbacks, featuring a gauzy filter from DP Zelmira Gainza, show Henry in full romantic glory as he sweet-talks the transfixing Isha with endearing jokes delivered with a dorky flair. We notice how Charles once showed an adventurous spirit; he talks to Isha in the end, yet feels withdraw at parties: She finds him sitting alone on a couch at the gathering. Since that day Charles has lost his daring drive. He refuses to develop new experiences with Isha—they always order takeout from the same places—and in the process, emotionally pushing her away.

“The Outside Story” offers very little mystery. Even when Charles forms a platonic bond with the elderly widow Sara (Lynda Gravatt), a local matriarch carving out a new independent life, and partners with the quiet Elena, Nozkowski’s film remains in a spin cycle. The intimate scale finds Charles, sometimes with the aforementioned traffic cop, exploring local eats and parks. After a while, his surveying loses some momentum (truly, how can he be this clueless about his surroundings?).

His trouble in re-entering his apartment, how he self-examines his jealousy, and how he wonders if some love is meant to be, doesn’t provide any added burst to the simple proceedings. Mostly because these thoughtful contours to a devastated man’s small journey arrive too late to make a considerable impact. That’s a shame, as “The Outside Story” wants to reveal a profound message concerning forgiveness: Is infidelity ever acceptable?—yet stops short of fully shaping these themes.

Though the delightful ensemble allows this slight comedy to bob along, it’s Henry who steers this ship into gentle waters. He imbues Charles’ substantial reawakening with great tenderness. His careful dramatic decisions, which grow this curmudgeon into a sweetheart, come to fruition when Isha finally shows up again. And his climactic earnest plea for one last chance is the grace note to the sincerity of “The Outside Story,” an absolute showcase for Brian Tyree Henry’s immense romantic range. [B]