Co-writer/director Nadia Latif takes on double duty in their first feature while adapting Walter Mosley’s novel The Man in My Basement. While Mosley’s material has yielded something interesting in an adaptation before (Devil in a Blue Dress) and this adaptation of The Man in My Basement is a captivating story about conscious and guilt, it’s convoluted, leaving the audience confused over a decision that is the main focal point.
Corey Hawkins as Charles Blakely in THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The movie focuses on Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins), who is in financial uncertainty — no one wants to lend him anymore money, no one wants to bail him out anymore, and he is about to lose the house his entire family, for generations, has grown up in. This, however, all changes, when a strange man, Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe), knocks on his door and asks to rent his basement for a relatively short amount of time but for nearly $70,000. Something is clearly wrong, but, given his current circumstances, this amount of money is going to ensure that Charles gets to keep the house.
L-R: Willem Dafoe as Anniston Bennet and Corey Hawkins as Charles Blakely in THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
Preparing the basement for Anniston, Charles discovers some mysterious heirlooms which peak his interest and he enlists the help of Narciss Gully (Anna Diop), an antiques buyer, who is able to offer insight. Once moved in, Anniston’s strange requests continue, including for Charles to wait on him hand and foot after Charles finds that Anniston’s locked himself in a makeshift prison he created in the basement. Overall, the overarching themes and motifs featured in The Man in My Basement promise something enigmatic and haunting, but overall delivers something poignant and thoughtful, a mismatch to the tone and overall vibe the mysteriousness and chaotic nature suggested.
L-R: Willem Dafoe as Anniston Bennet and Corey Hawkins as Charles Blakely in THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The movie hinges on the performances of Hawkins (The Tragedy of Macbeth) and Dafoe (INSIDE), and, to an extent, Diop (The Book of Clarence), and thankfully the three of them are all great in their respective roles. The weaker link is Corey Hawkins due to a lack of conviction and direness to his performance. For a character that is enshrouded in moral responsibility and familial guilt over not wanting to be the one who lost the ancestral home and losing everything they’ve worked for, Hawkins’s performance lacks that motivational push to convey the blurring of moral and ethical lines the character is wrestling with. While, alternatively here, Dafoe is more determined, disturbed, and chaotically unleashed in his performance, evoking someone who put themselves in their own predicament while showing a range of different emotions and different levels of his character’s development. Lastly, Diop is a co-lead but isn’t given enough for her character to fully develop throughout the movie. When she does have screentime, Diop shines bright, clearly conveying her character’s conviction over the importance of heritage.
THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT co-writer/director Nadia Latif. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
Overall, The Man in My Basement creates a tense world at moments and is at its best when it focuses on Dafoe versus Hawkins. Overall, the execution of the story mismanages the expectations it sets up and under delivers on what the audience assumes is going to happen. There is nothing wrong with a movie being something different than expected, but there isn’t enough here for the audience to sink its teeth into and get fully captivated by throughout. The Man in My Basement needed more in its adaptation to get audiences intrigued and keep them thoroughly engaged.
Screened during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
In select theaters September 12th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival The Man in My Basement webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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