Nappily Ever After

A Netflix film from Trisha R. Thomas's novel, directed by Haifaa al-Mansour, the first woman to direct a feature shot in Saudi Arabia and known for Wadjda. Violet works in advertising and keeps everything planned and flawless, her hair included. The film's whole subject is that hair: the straightening, the salon appointments, the panic about rain, and the way a Black woman's hair gets shaped by other people's expectations. When the proposal she is waiting for does not come, Violet picks up the clippers in a bathroom one night and shaves her head. The scene was done in one take; Sanaa Lathan really shaved it, with a single chance in front of the camera. From there the film moves through identity, work and family; the section with her mother is the best written. Who it is for: viewers who like light romantic comedies that still have a subject, and anyone who likes Sanaa Lathan. Who it is not for: anyone wanting the unexpected. The main story settles into a familiar shape, and the strong idea around the hair gives way in the second half to a conventional love triangle.