892 Review: John Boyega Gives Compelling Performance In Hostage Thriller [Sundance]
892, Abi Damaris Corbin’s directorial debut feature, is layered with tension and intent. Co-written by Corbin and Kwame Kwei-Armah, the thriller includes withering commentary about the Department of Veterans Affairs, notorious for its neglect of U.S. service members. John Boyega gives a stunning, heartbreaking central performance and, while 892 doesn’t offer anything deeper beyond its conceit, Corbin is able to build enough momentum to leave an impact.
Based on a true story, Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) was a former Marine who stopped receiving disability checks after being rerouted by the VA to pay off another debt (an error on their part that is addressed later in the film). Brown-Easley, on the brink of homelessness and struggling to return to civilian life, enters a bank and claims he has a bomb to its remaining two employees, Estel Valerie (Nicole Beharie) and Rosa Diaz (Selenis Leyva). While he could’ve asked for the bank to give him what the VA owes him — $892 — Brown-Easley wants to have an audience with the media so that he can explain the mistreatment of a department that should have helped him.
892 has sincerely intense moments, with Corbin doing her best to balance the hostage situation while maintaining a sense of empathy towards Brown-Easley. It’s Boyega’s layered performance that works to elevate the latter so the audience sees how a desperate scenario can drive someone to take drastic measures, all in a bid to be heard. As 892 builds tension, Boyega moves between chaotic, nervous energy to being apologetic to Estel and Rosa. The need to tell his story is at the forefront of his mind and he knows that he probably won’t make it out of the situation alive, another sad truth that is dropped into the film that is littered with them. He clearly doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t make the situation for the bank’s employees any less dire.
A quiet, tense scene between Beharie’s Estel and Boyega’s Brown-Easley showcases the former’s sincere empathy with the latter without erasing her fear of never seeing her son again. Beharie is particularly great in this moment and it’s through her expressions and body language that the audience sees the layers of emotion brewing even when she isn’t saying anything at all. And while Corbin takes her time setting up the story before ushering in the police, who are just itching to violently storm through the bank’s doors, it’s hard for 892 to shake the trappings of a typical hostage movie.
The brilliant Michael K. Williams, marking his final performance before his passing in September 2021, does tremendous work as a police negotiator, portraying Eli with heart, empathy, and more than a little wariness regarding procedure. But it isn’t enough to work through the conventional story and emotional beats 892 leans into. The pacing also slows down as the film relaxes into a bit of lull a little over halfway through its runtime. The message, about how awful the VA treats U.S. service members, is scathing. The realization that the error could have been corrected speaks to the frustrating bureaucratic system that leaves a lot of service members homeless and hungry with little care for their lives. The idea that Brown-Easley could hold up a bank so that people will learn about the VA’s terrible treatment of veterans is all the more gut-wrenching when considering how little has changed.
However, 892 could have easily spent more time exploring Brown-Easley as a person beyond his dire and unfortunate circumstances. The film shows bits and pieces of him being a good father to his young daughter Kiah (London Covington), but doesn’t really expand much beyond that. He is a representation of hardship and the outcome of a failed institution, but nothing more. It’s a shame, too, because Boyega puts his heart and soul into the performance, humanizing Brown-Easley with the strength of his performance, elevating where the script underwhelms. The escalation of the hostage situation is, however, where Corbin excels. Cinematographer Doug Emmett holds tight to Boyega’s every move, sometimes panning the camera away for a wide shot of the bank, as though to make clear the gravity of the situation from the perspectives of Estel and Rosa.
Keeping to the conversations between Brown-Easley, journalist Lisa Larson (Connie Britton), and the 911 operator steadies the film while simultaneously ramping up the drama. Spectacular editing by Chris Witt, which sees the action shift from the present to flashbacks detailing Brown-Easley’s experience with the VA, works in tandem to offer more insight. 892 is a film that is as intensely felt as it is heartbreaking. Buoyed by a strong, effective performance by Boyega, and even despite its pitfalls, Corbin’s film is a solid debut feature.
892 premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The film is 103 minutes long and is not yet rated.