Tyrel (2018) - My Real Favourite Film of 2018

My real favourite film of 2018; Tyrel, is about a black man named Tyler, who joins his white friend for a weekend of hanging out with other white dudes, anticipating a weekend of racist microaggressions and dude bro alcoholism and REM sing a long’s; in which being a fan of REM I wouldn’t mind but I get what Tyler is going through.

Tyrel is a very grounded and true to life take of what would really happen in this situation. If Get Out is the satirical take on people of colour around a group of white people, then Tyrel is the realistic take of people of colour around a group of white people.

Racism that people like myself and other people of colour go through, is sometimes passive and seems passive, but it’s still racism in some way. It negatively builds on our minds and therefore warps our perceptions of the world and ourselves. Tyrel’s subject matter is about how a person of color in a sea of white people couldn’t fully be themselves or talk about race fully, just so they don’t become the person who ruins the fun of a party. It’s about how white people tend to get away with anything and fell they can do anything, as people colour have to watch their steps to avoid persecution. From black checking us to not feeling safe wearing a dorag to sleep to avoid bullying, to people of colour treating other people of colour as a problem in the presents of white people.

Jason Mitchell's performance as Tyler is the best of his career so far, and if there is a god he'll get some sort of an award at some point for his acting; not that awards are important but...

Tyrel director Sebastian Silva is Chilean and gay, and clearly grabs from his own oppressed perspective, and continues his skill of creating a rollercoaster of escalating and deescalating situational dramedies such as his films: The Maid and Nasty Baby. Films that at first just seem like nothings happening within a realistic fly on the wall context, but that seemingly being the point and in which works so well in Tyrel. The movies point is that it appears that nothing bad is happening but to the character Tyler a lot is happening and that’s the perspective of a person of colour. When it comes to white people’s micro aggressions; (like a certain audience watching this film) some white people don’t know something is happening, when in actuality to someone like Tyler a lot is happening, and therefore Tyrel is an extremely eventful and insightful film even if it’s unnoticed to some. 10/10.

- Maurice Jones