Synopsis
The story of a Jewish novelist, Harry Lesser, struggling to complete his latest work, and his antagonistic relationship with a black writer who moves in down the hall.
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Cast
- Dylan McDermottHarry Lesser
- Snoop DoggWillie Spearmint
- Rose ByrneIrene Bell
- Seymour CasselLevenspiel
- Niki J. CrawfordMary Kettlesmith
- Aldis HodgeSam Clemence
- Linda LawsonAnna
- Laz AlonsoJacob
- Stephen JaredCop
- Jevin SmithHitman
Recommendations
- 70
Village Voice
Stilted and gloomy as it sounds (and sometimes is), The Tenants gets by on its nimble approximation of Malamud's robust prose, subtle turns of deadpan humor and gut-tingling menace, and remarkable performances. McDermott does credible work here, but Snoop's casting is a stroke of genius. - 70
Slate
There's something endearingly bookish about a movie whose single most frightening shot involves the possibility of an ax being taken to a typewriter. - 63
New York Post
Harry likes Willie's white girlfriend, played by the Australian actress Rose Byrne with a riveting, sad sexiness. So much screen time is devoted to the men that her part is underwritten, but there are novels in her eyes. - 50
Variety
Keeps grimly glued to its one-note premise, relieved by nary a glimmer of humor, surprise or personality. - 50
The New York Times
The message about race relations in America conveyed by The Tenants, a small, serious, but choppy and psychologically cauterized screen adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1971 novel, is dire. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Harkening back to a time when race relations in New York City were even worse than they seem today. - 50
Salon
Isn't exactly bad and isn't exactly good. It's raw in some places and overcooked in others. - 42
Christian Science Monitor
The stage is set for a full-scale racial conflict, but neither actor is really up to the task - McDermott seems lost in his voluminous beard and Snoop Dogg spits his lines out.
