Bad Hair (2020), Dir. Justin Simien, Netflix: Rating 3***: Dana Archer
Bad Hair (Dir. Justin Simien, 2020)
Review : Dana Archer 5th October 2021
Platform : Netflix
Run time : 107 minutes
Rating : ***
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Starring Jay Pharaoh and Laverne Cox. Anna (Elle Lorraine) has always struggled with her hair, since childhood she has been tender headed. Anna works at an RnB television channel called Culture which promotes African American music, the film is set in 1989. Upon New management, Zora (Vanessa Williams) Anna is given more pressure and decides to have hair sewn into her scalp in an attempt to improve her image. However, the film takes a turn when the hair turns out to have a sinister past. I liked the concept of the film and found it to be unique in it's storytelling however it took too long to set the scene therefore rushing the unfurling. Anna reads one of her father's slave lore books and notices links to her own experience with the killer weave. I struggled with this film finding it overlong. It was a wasted opportunity as the seeds of creepiness and potential are clearly there. The film hovers between satire and social relevance with the final 'defeat' a tongue in cheek reclaiming of stereotypes surrounding Afro-Caribbean hair. Overall, a disappointing film that had promising potential but fails in the execution. It circulates a number of ideas and I think struggles to find each one a place in the narrative
3/5 Stars