“The Knife,” the wonderfully tense directorial debut of Nnamdi Asomugha, creates a juicy moral dilemma whose consequences are slowly wrung out, along with meditations on race and class.
The investigative chamber piece is set entirely in and around a Black family’s home. Chris (Asomugha, as assured in front of the camera as he is behind it), a construction worker, is asleep next to his wife, Alex (Aja Naomi), when he hears a noise downstairs: an unkempt, middle-aged white woman has invaded his home.
Justifiably terrified, he confronts the woman, though the camera cuts away before the full showdown. Alex and the couple’s two young daughters (Aiden Price and Amari Price) rush downstairs. It was self-defense, but the optics — of a white woman lying unconscious on the kitchen floor after a confrontation with a Black man — sends Alex into a frenzy. Just to be safe, she places a knife in the woman’s hand right before the cops, whom Chris called, arrive on the scene.
Detective Carlsen, a seasoned investigator played with twinkle-eyed stringency by Melissa Leo, can tell something feels off. She interrogates every member of the family separately, in scenes that capture each jittery testimony in revealing facial close-ups. Is this level of scrutiny fair when Chris was clearly fending off an intruder? Fast cuts to objects around the crime scene feed into the suspense, reminding us that the police have the tools to figure out the truth; it’s just a matter of time.
With its twists and rug-pulls, “The Knife” makes for an absorbing drama, but it’s also deeply exasperating in that it feels less like a social commentary grounded in reality than an edgy play on emotions.
The Knife
Rated R for violence and police intimidation. Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes. In theaters.
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