Chris Rock's 'Misty Green' Hits Theaters Oct. 9, and Rosalind Eleazar Is the Name to Know

Oct 2

Twelve years after Top Five, Chris Rock is back behind the camera. He isn't playing it safe.

Misty Green, which Rock wrote, directed, produced and co-stars in, opens in limited release Oct. 9 from A24. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, then screened at the New York Film Festival. This isn't the broad comedy some audiences expect from Rock. It's primarily a drama about Hollywood, ambition and what happens when the spotlight moves on without you.

The story

Rosalind Eleazar, best known to TV audiences from Slow Horses, stars as Misty Green. She's a former Emmy-winning actress whose career has fallen apart. Misty is talented, tough and her own worst enemy. Now she's fighting for a second act, and the trailers suggest that fight may include reinventing herself as a singer, set to "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls.

It's a fitting choice. Few stories are more familiar, or more rarely told with care, than the Black actress who breaks through and then watches the industry decide she's disposable.

The cast

Rock built an ensemble around Eleazar:

Daniel Kaluuya plays Misty's brother, who has demons of his own. It's his first live-action screen role since Nope four years ago.
Anna Kendrick plays Misty's friend, a fellow actress seriously thinking about leaving Los Angeles.
Adam Driver plays a sketchy industry figure who offers Misty a path she'd rather not take.
Chris Rock plays Jordan, a Hollywood hanger-on who seems to believe in her talent.

Topher Grace, Alexandra Shipp, Tracie Thoms and Anthony Anderson round out the cast. Nelson George, the veteran cultural critic and filmmaker, is among the executive producers.

A small film with something to prove

Misty Green was made for roughly $5 million, less than any of Rock's previous films. Rock himself has called it a "tiny" movie. In today's theatrical market, that means a limited rollout and a short window to find its audience. If it plays near you, don't wait for it to come to you.

Early festival reviews have singled out Eleazar's performance. The Hollywood Reporter called her a revelation.

Why it matters

Rock has spent his career skewering Hollywood from the stage. With Misty Green, he's turned the camera on the industry's treatment of the talent it consumes, especially the women it forgets. In a year when conversations about Black artists' longevity in Hollywood are louder than ever, this film arrives right on time.

Misty Green is rated R and runs 1 hour, 44 minutes. It opens in select theaters Friday, Oct. 9.