Stream It Or Skip It: ‘In His Shadow’ on Netflix, A Mythically-Tinged Tale of Brothers Battling in the Banlieues

Love isn’t the only thing that’s blind on Netflix – so is the protagonist of their new original movie In His Shadow. That’s about where any similarity between their glossy reality show and this gritty French drama ends. If all you know of France is the ritzy streets of Paris, this high-stakes showdown in a majority-minority community is here to correct any assumptions.

IN HIS SHADOW: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Half-brothers Ibrahim (Kaaris) and Adama (Alassane Diong) reside in the banlieues on the outskirts of Paris after their father decides to open his own storefront in a Senegalese-French immigrant community. The two siblings diverge on many fronts, but perhaps the most visible (pun intended) is that a childhood accident potentially spurred on by black magic renders Adama blind. Many years later, Ibrahim is a neighborhood thug while Adama pursues his passion for music with his heightened auditory perception.

When their father dies tragically, it puts the two diametrically opposed brothers on a collision course of their destiny – with their sister Aïssata (Assa Sylla) and her boyfriend Malik (Carl Malapa) caught in the crossfire. Adama might seem unlikely to prevail in such a head-to-head contest. But the same witchy curse that made him blind could provide an unexpected way out.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Think all the drama of the great Brazilian film City of God transposed into the setting of gritty French thrillers like La Haine or the recent Athena.

Performance Worth Watching: While Ivorian rapper Kaaris seems to have developed the film as a showcase for himself, it’s Alassane Diong who steals the show as Adama. He’s got a real screen presence even when the character’s blindness does require him to assess a scene with more caution.

Memorable Dialogue: “Embrace your weakness,” Adama’s father tells him shortly after he loses his sight. “Don’t fight it. Look to make it your strength.” And in case you missed the significance of this maxim that feels very Mufasa-like in its towering wisdom, it’s later engraved on the case of the game oware that Adama carries with him.

Sex and Skin: All the drama stays within the family here, and they’re not that kind of family … so nothing to report in this department.

Our Take: At under 90 minutes, there’s just not enough time for writer/director Marc Fouchard to develop Kaaris’ idea upon which the film is based into anything substantial. In His Shadow relies on archetypes and genre conventions to fill in the gaps in this surface-level story. There are pockets of excitement that spring up within the movie, especially at the end when Fouchard does some intriguing things with Adama’s blindness. But these flourishes feel both too little and too late when the movie spends so much time spinning its wheels heading towards the inevitable climactic confrontation.

Our Call: SKIP IT. In His Shadow is a familiar fraternal tale that shies away from exploring anything innovative with its central character’s state. While not without moments, those alone are not enough to emerge from the long shadow cast by its adherence to formula.

Marshall Shaffer is a New York-based freelance film journalist. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, The Playlist and many other outlets. Some day soon, everyone will realize how right he is about Spring Breakers.

Watch In His Shadow on Netflix