“The Day Shall Come” (2019) follows Moses Al Shabazz (Marchant Davis), a harmless, delusional, small-time preacher/wannabe revolutionary father. He attracts the attention of the Miami division of the FBI, who are looking for a big terrorist bust to make them relevant, and the FBI’s informants, who are willing to do anything to make a buck or stay out of jail. Will they successfully entrap Moses by getting him to eschew his values for money?
I considered seeing “The Day Shall Come” in theaters because it had a black lead, was billed as a comedy/satire, and had a great cast, but the limited run thwarted my plans. I am unfamiliar with most of director Christopher Morris’ and writers Jesse Armstrong, Sean Gray and Tony Roche’s work except “Veep.” Like “Veep,” this film explores similar themes of incompetent, immoral people in power making a mess. If you enjoy “Veep,” you may like this movie. While it is lighthearted, and no animals or people are physically harmed in the story, the denouement throws cold water on the humor, and theater goers probably shuffled out of the theater silently so consider yourself warned. The film manages to deliver a credible realistic, bleak ending, and I had to remind myself that the characters were not real so I would not get too depressed about the outcome.
“The Day Shall Come” is a tragedy. The (white) filmmakers succeed in making a story about black revolutionaries without making them frightening. Moses creates a mish mosh of previous black nationalist/religious movements, Catholicism, and black cultural touchstones with a dash of Star Wars, which result in absurd practices and an underwhelming following of a handful of people, including his love interest, Venus (Danielle Brooks), who accepts him more than his ideology, and his daughter, Rosa (Calah Lane), who loves donuts.
Moses becomes an every man in the way that his mental illness helps him cope with his financial frustrations and powerlessness in the face of gentrification. He has a childlike faith in his delusions of talking animals and his belief that one day he can tear down the cranes without hurting anyone of course. He enters the pantheon of incompetent, unintentionally funny men who want to have a bigger impact on the world than they can have like The Office’s Michael Scott. He and his Farmer Army, three male followers converted from a life of violence, are serious, but they are the equivalent of children playing make-believe using a shower curtain as a cape. Left to their own devices, they could be happy together albeit strange for not being like everyone else in the way that they occupy their time such as marching like ducks. Davis with his dimples, glowing skin and irrepressible smile is affable and never evokes the image of a man ranting menacingly in the street. Anyone who would consider them dangerous is more delusional. By stressing the absurdity of the effectiveness of some such movements and creating a sympathetic portrait of their leaders, “The Day Shall Come” frames them as the little guy, not a menace that must be stopped.
“Pitch me the next 9/11.” Cue the FBI. Though initially played for laughs, the movie’s moral becomes clear. The FBI makes the problem, the terrorist threat, then ignores common sense and their humanity for the sake of ambition. In “The Day Shall Come,” only the FBI and their informants commit crimes. Kendra Glack (Anna Kendrick) is the most sympathetic of the bunch since she works with a bunch of bloviating, crass dudes, but she is the one that brings Moses to her boss’ attention to curry favor then allows the situation to escalate against the wisdom of her jerkiest coworker, Stevie (Adam David Thompson). She tries to stop the runaway train when she recognizes that Moses is not a problem, but when she is unable to do so, she tries to mitigate the consequences of the full force of the competing FBI and local PD coming down on Moses and everyone he loves. There is an Orwellian nature to the office dialogue, which includes a clever riff on Julia Roberts’ famous line in “Notting Hill” (1999). The best exchange is between Kendra and her boss (True Blood’s Denis O’Hare). He explains, “The logic only works if you say it slowly. Keep the contradictory elements apart.” “I would look insane,” she replies. “Only if you say it fast.” Who is more insane? Moses and his followers or people who know better, have power and wield it with abandon?
The FBI exploit the lack of resources and their target’s powerlessness to help themselves and their community. The principle of “community support” is the FBI’s hustle, which even for profit organizations such as the local bank denies. Moses, who is desperate for money, tries to retain his ethics, make the dirty deals and get the money. The funniest scenes are his exchanges with other informants pretending to be terrorists, and then Moses brainstorming ways to reverse their plans and defang their weapons. Farmer Afrika (Andrei McPherson) steals quite a few scenes whether trying to stuff the shower curtain cape back in a bag or chanting “Mangoes” so he does not lose his shit while Moses bargains with some disreputable prospects. Evangeliste (Curtiss Cook Jr.) is the group’s dunce as he fails to keep up with the ever-changing maneuvering.
Comedies usually have no long-lasting consequences for its characters, but if “Keanu” (2016) taught us anything, when black people cross lines, even in movies, the misunderstandings and hijinks do not get cleared up. If the blame only rested on active participants, I probably would have left only wistful for Moses losing his hope and innocence as he has to come to terms with the fact that he is not special, but the end credits reveal the devastating effects on others. Even though Danielle Brooks has a small role, she nails the ending by injecting gravitas into the entire proceeding. Side note: I have not watched “Orange is the New Black,” but now I have another reason. The explicit question of whether Rosa will be ok haunts the audience while Prince’s “The Cross” closes the film.
“The Day Shall Come” teaches a lesson. There are numerous shots of people partying near beaches, obsessed with getting high and drinking, looking to satisfy sexual urges, actively breaking laws. Even the reformed criminals in his group would have been better off if they still followed the way of the gun. Moses and his group get punished for opting out of consumer society, for being weird and mentally ill, but existing in a society where eyes are everywhere, and there is no such thing as flying under the radar. There is no place for (black) adults to pretend like children without attracting attention and being criminalized. (Militias are just fine however.) There is no way to opt out of society and not need money. This movie is also about poverty. They are farmers without land, knowledge, or experience. It is a film set after the fall.
