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One Week, 2000, 97 minutes, Not Rated
By Carla Robinson
One Week is not only one of the best films about African-American life to come
down the pike in a long time, but the best film dealing with AIDS ever to hit the big
screen, Philadelphia notwithstanding. It offers the sentimental humor of Soul
Food and the kinetic energy of The Best Man, but while these two films
engage a kind of contrived emotional depth, One Week’s is purely authentic.
Its underlying intelligence is evident on both sides of the camera.
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Its story revolves around Varon Thomas
(played by Kenny Young, who, I kid you not, gives Tom Hanks’ work in Philadelphia
a run for its money), whose wedding day lies one week away. He is set to marry the love of
his life, Kiya who’s a realistic portrait of the kind of Black woman we all strive to
be - smart, strong, loving and, thank God, not self-sacrificing. Beautifully brought to
life by actress Saadiqa Muhammed, Kiya has a clear sense of herself and a strong belief in
her relationship with Varon. |
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All is well until a counselor summons Varon to a local clinic. When he
reluctantly pays a visit, she tells him he may have been exposed to the HIV virus. Varon
refuses to believe this and will be tested when hell freezes over. He goes home and tells
his homeboy, Tyco (Eric Lane, who’s so convincing it’s frightening) the
situation. Tyco tells him not to sweat; he got the same call from the same woman at the
same clinic. It’s clearly another conspiracy against brothers. Neither of them should
waste time getting tested.
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That sounds good to Varon, until the possibility of
putting his future wife and family in danger starts to eat at him. He takes the test and
it kicks off the longest week of his life. His troubles are compounded by the stress of
wedding preparations and other, life-altering, turns of event. However, the film makes its
greatest thematic point when Varon and Tyco realize (in a scene that brilliantly manages
to be sad, comical, and dramatic) that the same woman may have infected them both. When
they discover the truth, the two friends choose dramatically different resolutions.
One Week’s greatness lies in its refusal to take the easy way out. It treks
the road less traveled, poignantly illustrating the deadly consequences of mindless,
unprotected sex - without delivering a sermon. In a relatively small pool of people like
Black Chicago, when folk are careless about whom they sleep with, sexual circles can
become incestuous and what goes around, like HIV, can definitely come around. One Week
uses straight-up, honest characterizations to drive this point home. The film’s sole
flaw is that it was not kissed by the production value Gods. It is at times slightly out
of focus, too dark, and static, but how many slick, pretty films about absolutely nothing
have we seen lately? Too many. One Week’s marvelous cast, groundbreaking
story and skillful direction make it worth repeated trips to the movie theater.
M
September 2000
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