Delayed Gratification is about exactly what the title implies. The Todd Inman-directed and penned drama follows best friends/flatmates Zara (Naya Somanya) and Milan (Dominique Janelle) just as their lives get very complicated. Milan is a recovering alcoholic, 18 months sober, and Zara tries to be supportive by only drinking when she’s not around. That will be slightly harder now, as the women are heading to their school’s homecoming. At the event, Zara runs into the man she still pines for. The catch is that he’s now married to a white lady.
Milan’s hardships only get worse as her expensive shopping habits get the best of her. Soon enough, she has to find honest work, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. All the while, Milan’s romantic entanglements with the well-meaning but not serious Lawrence (Augustus Taborn) flatline after a disastrous meeting with her parents. From here, the ladies’ lives take a curveball as they stumble toward their dreams of truly being truly gratified by life.
Delayed Gratification takes a while to get going. The first 20 minutes aren’t bad, not at all, but they feel a bit repetitive, with homecoming, lost loves, and backstories repeated one or two times too many. But once everything is established, the characters’ plight begins to feel realistic. Zara’s love life gets complicated, but in understandable ways. Milan’s money issues are of her own making, but are still relatable. A credit card declining at a salon becomes a frustrating but realistic moment for the character.
“…Zara runs into the man she still pines for. The catch is that he’s now married to a white lady.”
Inman’s directing keeps things moving along, perhaps a little too quickly. Some scenes or subplots are cut short without their due. But for the most part, everything plays out nicely. The exotic dancing subplot later becomes a lynchpin of the drama. A guided tour sequence actually becomes one of the best by virtue of its honest depiction of the employer-employee dichotomy.
Somanya is solid as the smart but flawed Zara. The actor never lets the part’s confidence, as written, get in the way of highlighting what she perceives she lacks. Janelle is great with a quip and better with the waterworks. She can cry very well on screen. Taborn gets a few strong moments to show his range as well.
Delayed Gratification is an engaging, dramatic feature about flawed but well-meaning characters. The direction allows these people’s lives and the actors portraying them to take center stage. While slow to start, it ends with a bang and remains authentic every step of the way.
For more information about Delayed Gratification, visit the Breaking Glass Pictures site.
"…ends with a bang and remains authentic every step of the way."
