Chris Rock's "Misty Green" Satirizes Hollywood with Rosalind Eleazar and Daniel Kaluuya

Chris Rock wrote and directed "Misty Green," a dark Hollywood satire starring Rosalind Eleazar as a faded actor squatting in a Santa Monica apartment after her wealthy boyfriend's death. The film, structured as a day-by-day countdown thriller, follows Misty as she navigates eviction by the widow Celine (Amy Landecker), auditions for reboots of "Fresh" and "Dreamgirls," and confronts industry inequities. Daniel Kaluuya plays her bipolar brother Jay, Anna Kendrick her friend Naomi, Adam Driver the villain Zach, and Rock appears as director Jordan Green. The movie critiques tokenizing casting and Hollywood's lack of original ideas, while showcasing Eleazar's singing and acting. It features a subplot with casting director Rhonda (Tracie Thoms) and references to Misty's 2009 Emmy win for "The Red Eye." Rock's previous directorial works include "Head of State" (2003) and "Top Five" (2014). The film is a wary love letter to Los Angeles, with overhead beach shots and a cover of "California Dreamin'." A news subplot about a false murder accusation against a Black man affects Jay. Kaluuya, an Oscar winner for "Judas and the Black Messiah" (2021), returns to the screen after a hiatus. Eleazar, British-born, has credits in "Slow Horses" and "The Personal History of David Copperfield" (2020). The satire balances comedy and tragedy, ending on a note of industry cannibalization.