Movie Review: 'One Bedroom' Is a Bittersweet Slice of Life

One Bedroom opens in a jarring but effective fashion. This movie about a breakup between a couple after five years of living together in a small corner of an ever more gentrified part of Brooklyn, New York, opens with a slam poem about gentrification. The movie isn't about the strange and often unwelcome changes in New York City neighborhoods, but the raw energy and forcefulness of the poem, delivered by actress and model DeAriesha Mack directly to the camera, sets a tone of forceful dialogue that will be the hallmark of One Bedroom.

One Bedroom stars writer and director Darien Sills-Evans as Nate, a barber and DJ living in Brooklyn, New York. On this day, Nate's girlfriend has just moved out of their shared New York brownstone and Nate has arrived at work at a local barbershop to find out that his best friend, Mosey (Jon Laster), has told everyone about his breakup.

Naturally, this being a barbershop, everyone has some advice, some insults and a little comfort to offer. Since everyone already knows what's up, Nate decides to open up about the final day of his relationship with Melissa (Devin Nelson), a day that began with the two of them back in bed together and Nate thinking he might still be able to salvage the relationship.

Melissa is clear that this encounter is a last fling and that while she loves Nate, she can no longer be with him. This is the first in a series of arguments that build a solid momentum for a story told entirely in arguments of varying severity and shifting tones. Melissa's brother, Ted (Stephen Hill), and her best friend Cora (Amber Reauchean Williams) are also part of these arguments, as they are helping Melissa pack, and they have more than a few opinions to share about Nate, not many of them positive.

One Bedroom has a stagey quality, like a low-budget adaptation of a play, but it works. The key is that though the setting is limited and the cinematic aspects are notably minimal, the dialogue and performances are so effective that the movie works without the trappings of a well budgeted feature film.

The performances in One Bedroom are really effective. Darien Sills-Evans gives every actor in the movie room to breathe in their character, and while the scripting appears tight, the actors are all incredibly natural. Each performer communicates a strong sense of a shared history, a key aspect of a relationship drama such as this. Everyone has the goods on each other; they appear to know each others triggers and emotional pressure points, and it makes the dialogue pop.

Director Darien Sills-Evans also wrote the script for One Bedroom and his auteur's touch is strong. The script is sharp and well defined with strong characters and crisp dialogue. All of the characters are likable, and there are no villains in this story, only points of view that you can agree with or not. Both Nate and Melissa are flawed and have hurt each other, and it's up to us how we feel about who was right and who was wrong.

It's a wonderfully non-judgmental script; it feels like we are watching a real couple having a real breakup, one filled with all of the complex emotions that come from a relationship that has lasted a long time. The dialogue is filled with recriminations and accusations but also with genuine love and the lingering emotions that you would expect of two people who loved each other but can't keep fighting anymore.

I could tell you how the movie played out and it would not spoil the movie. One Bedroom isn't about how the movie ends, it's about how we arrive at the end, and that journey is carried by compelling, funny, sad, angry and charming dialogue and performances. I cared about the ending, but it wasn't what was most important thing about One Bedroom.

One Bedroom is available now on your favorite rental streaming services. When you are done watching One Bedroom, look up the soundtrack because it is exceptional. The soundtrack has some jazz, soul and hip hop, and it's all original and incredible. The soundtrack was crafted by Doug Simpson and is available on Spotify, and I am linking to it for you here for you to enjoy.