‘Mickey Hardaway’ Reviews:

        On August 9, 2024, Indie Rights releases ‘Mickey Hardaway’, which is currently holding fresh at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, a sketch artist visits a psychiatrist when as the abuse he has taken over the years begins to overtake him. The ensemble cast includes Rashad Hunter, Stephen Cofield Jr., Ashley Parchment, David Chattam, and Dennis L.A. White. But what did the critics say? 

Abhishek Sharma of Film Threat notes, “Mickey is portrayed and written with much elegance and grace. It’s a strong feature debut from the filmmaker, whose direction and penning mirror his thorough understanding of the cinematic arts and human empathy.” Adding, “At some level, it seems that Micky Hardaway is drawn from an experience that’s either lived or witnessed. The African-American male is from South Central, Los Angeles, and grew up in a suppressive, restrictive home. The mental health degradation caused by reliving those memories has Mickey seek therapy, which dives deeper into his frame of mind. Cox seems to have put in something with a broader scope of understanding here.”

Eddie Harrison of film-authority.com writes, “An accomplished debut feature that drills down on the tragedy of what might befall today’s youth, Marcellus Cox’s intense drama is shot in black and white. That can be a barrier for audiences, but it’s also reflective of the bleak situation described, a cycle of abuse that affects protagonist Mickey Hardaway (Rashad Hunter) a young artist with a talent that might lead to success as an animator. Achieving that potential, however, proves problematic; Cox has expanded Mickey Hardaway from a short film he’d made previously, and the joins don’t show at all.” Continuing, “Cox manages to make sure that we don’t go down a Taxi Driver route of excusing what Mickey does, but he does offer understanding. Mickey goes from proclaiming ‘You can’t buy my soul’ to admitting ‘I don’t know how to love’, and that admission of his own failures ultimately proves to be part of Mickey’s unravelling. Mickey Hardaway is a serious-minded and well-acted film that’s worth commending for those who are prepared to listen to a cogent social message. It’s a young person’s film, and better for it; it’s a howl of anger that’s all too familiar as the grind of poverty and manipulation grips most of us more tightly with each passing year.”

Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness praises the film, stating, “Mickey Hardaway is a powerful film. It speaks the various ways we fail our children, first by presuming they are responsible for our own failings, then by placing our anger upon them, and then not providing them the resources to manage that unearned trauma. In this case, with one phrase, “How much time you’ve got?,” Cox articulates that one hour isn’t enough time for any single person to get the attention they need, but, at the very least, it’s a start. Though all responsibility for our actions is ultimately our own, when one of us falls, it’s also a failure of the community to ensure that they had help when they needed it.”

Alejandro Turdo of Hoy Sale Cine says, “Mickey Hardaway holds no punches when it comes to address harsh topics such as family violence, toxic masculinity, discrimination and a broken system that pushes young people to the limit without giving them a chance to experience their full potential.”

Photo by Johnny Briggs on Unsplash