Filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz does
a pretty terrific job of initially luring the viewer into the brisk proceedings, as Table 19 kicks off with an engrossing opening stretch that effectively introduces the various characters and the less - than - ideal situation in which they find themselves.
As Brown's aged, long - estranged mama, Davis — with the aid of
terrific star Chadwick Boseman and some
pretty expert makeup artists whose numbers Clint Eastwood should find immediately — manages to reinvigorate a set - up familiar from any number of tortured artist - biopics (i.e. absentee parent comes groveling years later to abandoned child - turned - superstar at the peak of his fame) with the same smart, electrifying clarity of character and tender yet tough - minded emotionalism that should be long - recognizable by now to anyone who has seen Doubt or Antwone Fisher or Solaris or Won't Back Down, or else Fences, King Hedley II, or Seven Guitars on Broadway, or, more likely, witnessed Davis» extraordinary, one - woman rescue
job on Taylor's The Help.