Cover (2007)

Director:

Bill Duke

Writers (WGA):

Aaron Rahsaan Thomas (screenplay)
Aliya Jackson (earlier screenplay)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

When someone is murdered on New Year's Eve, the prime suspect is Valerie Maas, a church-going home-maker...

Plot Keywords:

Bisexual | Church | Down Low | AIDS | Gay Interest

Cast

Razaaq Adoti	...	Dutch Maas
Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery	...	Nicole Maas
John Patrick Barry	...	Police Officer
Sakinah Bingham	...	Jenny
Kenya Cagle	...	Police Officer
Nakia Dillard	...	Male patient
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Valerie Maas
Ray Ford	...	Concierge
Vivica A. Fox	...	Zahara Milton
Richard Gant	...	Robert Maas
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Detective Hicks
Christopher Michael Holley	...	DL Father
Patti LaBelle	...	Mrs. Persons
Leon	...	Ryan Chambers
Michael Logan	...	House searching dad
Mya	...	Cynda (as Mya Harrison)
Brook Susan Parker	...	Maid
Paula Jai Parker	...	Monica Wilson
Damascene Pierre Paul	...	Police Officer
Victoria Gabrielle Platt	...	Charlotte Chambers
Clayton Prince	...	Greg
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Kevin Wilson
Ricky Staub	...	Bartender
Karen Vicks	...	Mrs. Dunn
Janet Zappala	...	Reporter

Also Known As:

Invisible (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual situations and language, violence and some drug content.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Cover Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Valerie is taking portraits during the photo shoot she consistently holds the camera wrong. It is held in 'landscape' mode meaning almost all of the photos taken would have been useless.

well meaning but too contrived to be truly convincing

Bill Duke's "Cover" is like an urbanized, African-American version of "Brokeback Mountain" - only this time told from the viewpoint of the initially clueless spouse rather than the two male lovers. Aunjanue Ellis plays a deeply religious woman whose life and marriage fall apart when she discovers that her husband (Razaaq Adoti) is actually a closeted homosexual. This leads to a great deal of emotional trauma for both the wife and the husband - as well as to a patently absurd and wholly unnecessary murder subplot that's used to frame the story.

There's no question that this is a well-meaning and well-intentioned film, but its attempt to deal honestly with a serious social issue all too often falls victim to slickery and overwrought melodramatics. Many a scene will have you rolling your eyes in incredulity and disbelief, even while conceding that some of the points the movie is making are indeed insightful and valid. And, commendably, the movie does give a fair hearing to each of its genuinely torn and conflicted characters. But an overall air of amateurishness - both in the performances (even from such acting stalwarts as Louis Gossett Jr. and "Amen"'s Clifton Davis) and in the direction - keeps it from having the impact it clearly wishes to have.

All in all, a missed opportunity.