Sundance 2021 Film Review: On the Count of Three
On The Count Of Three Has Remarkable Performances Through Slow-building Chemistry
Our Sundance coverage continues with a review for Jerrod Carmichael’s directorial debut, On the Count of Three. With strong performances and impressive construction, the film is deft at combining melancholy with levity, but not all of its humor lands. Our contributor DarkSkyLady reviews the film. Trigger warning: discussions of suicide/attempted suicide. Minor spoilers ahead…
On the Count of Three is the feature-length directorial debut of Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show), a dark comedy about two friends - Val (Carmichael) and Kevin (Christopher Abbott, Black Bear, Possessor) - who make a pact to end their lives together. There’s quite a lot to love about the film, bold in the way it tries to mine affecting dramedy from the subject of suicide, but it’s hampered by the two leads’ slow-starting chemistry and its hit-and-miss attempts at humor. Carmichael is impressive sitting in the director’s chair for the first time, combining a knack for storytelling with some phenomenal soundtrack choices, but the fact remains many of the attempts at comedy fall flat because of their offensiveness. But that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have any jokes that land, far from it - dark comedies are challenging, but overall, On the Count of Three is effective in mixing humor with the story’s notes of trauma, mental illness, and sadness.
Val and Kevin, before they fulfill their pact, decide to tie up some loose ends. And the acting here is wonderful. Jerrod Carmichael shines as an emotionally closed-off man who is struggling, but rather than seeking help, opts for suicide. His eyes convey a depression that deepens as it combines with an emptiness, leaving the palpable impression of a person who believes there’s no point in living. Kevin, his best friend, who attempted suicide a few days prior and has tried repeatedly to get help, has tried a variety of medications to no avail. Christopher Abbott is equally great at wearing depression. Kevin - freed from the societal confines of civility due to his impending death - waves a gun at a store clerk in order to get service, and when he bellows “it hurts to be ignored,” his eyes live in that pain. It makes us wonder how many times he’s sought help, only to be brushed aside because those in charge felt they knew what was best for him without his input. However, it takes some time for these powerful performances to become effective - when Val and Kevin meet within the story for the first time, it feels like actors trying to feel out each other’s characters rather than the rapport between old friends.
Acknowledging mental health is a serious problem within the Black community, even though Black adults are more likely to experience feelings of hopelessness than white adults. There are several reasons for this statistic, and not all of it lies with environment and/or family. When you are in a system that largely exploits your community, you tend to only exhibit strength as a form of protection. It’s great to see this explored in On the Count of Three through the character of Val, showing not only that he needs help, but also his destructive habit of resisting it.
“Acknowledging mental health is a serious problem within the Black community…It’s great to see this explored in On the Count of Three through the character of Val…”
On the lighter end of the spectrum, On the Count of Three perhaps has some of the most inspired usages of music in recent memory, particularly for a dramedy. The needle drops are hilarious, and at times employed to perfect comedic timing. Kevin blasting Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” on his truck’s stereo to pump himself up for his future suicide, and Val’s irritated response to this display of 2000s angst will certainly inspire a chuckle - it’s a great example of gallows humor executed perfectly. The film also uses musical beats to effectively undercut its darkness, most notable when Val and Kevin confront the former’s abusive father (J.B. Smoove, playing against type). The confrontation turns violent, but the entire scene is soundtracked by a Frankie the Fish, belting out “give me that Filet-O-Fish.” What ensues will leave you feeling conflicted as laughter pours out of you, even as you relate to Val’s anger.
Where the film lost me was in its usage of slurs. On the Count of Three has a Black man use a homophobic slur and Kevin - a leftist at heart - uses the n-word while drunk. I immediately started to wonder who the writers were. And of course, it wasn’t a Black person who wrote the script. Why put this in, especially when it does nothing to expand on the story? Is the implication supposed to be that even the most well-meaning liberal white person will openly use a slur under the influence of alcohol? This reminds me of Quentin Tarantino and how he’s given carte blanche by the world at large to keep racism and racist slurs embedded in his films. Even when his films aren’t about racism, you can count on Tarantino to include at least one slur because that’s what all the cool white people do. It’s lowbrow entertainment, and ultimately, worthless beyond perhaps giving the white creator an edgy thrill. And in the end, there’s no accountability because they can put it in their film and feel assured that many will rally to defend their right to their “art.”
On The Count Of Three is undoubtedly entertaining. For the most part, it fires on its many cylinders once the chemistry is cemented between Carmichael and Abbott, and it explores a rarely traversed topic of mental health among Black men. Unfortunately, despite having a Black director, the use of slurs made it feel like this film was not made with me in mind - it’s meant for the hip people who feel that slurs are debatable because the intention is what matters. Intention doesn’t matter. but the harm inflicted by these words do. The slurs pulled me right out of the film each time, and by the time the film’s ending rolled around, I’d already been distracted enough to feel disinterested by the whole ordeal.
GRADE: B-
DarkSkyLady is a Black/Puerto Rican film critic and writer tackling issues of race, culture, and equal rights. DarkSkyLady is a contributing writer for Nerdist and Nightmarish Conjurings. Their work can also be found on Medium as well as their site.
