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Reels & Riddims
Breaking Down HBO Max’s ‘Get Millie Black’: A Jamaican Crime Drama
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"Get Millie Black" unearths the layers of family dynamics, ambition and crime through the lens of Jamaican culture. As Millie navigates a complex investigation, the show reveals deeper societal issues, intertwining personal traumas with broader cultural challenges.
• Exploration of familial complexities and unresolved traumas
• Representation of queerness and the LGBTQ+ experience in Jamaica
• Themes of ambition leading to dire consequences
• Rich visual storytelling reflective of Jamaican culture
• Multi-layered narratives through varying character perspectives
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A Breadfruit Media Production
Get Millie Black
Speaker 1Everyone , welcome back to another episode of Reels and Rhythms brought to you by Carry On Friends in partnership with Style to the Vibes and Breadfruit Media Concerts with Nuff Nuff Vibes , as only Michaela and I can , through the lens of Caribbean culture , caribbean American , immigrant and first-generation experiences . And so , michaela , welcome back . What is guan in ?
Speaker 2Gua guan , gua guan peoples .
Speaker 1All right , so we're not have no segment this week . We're not try come up with a segment . I go with this particular episode , but we couldn't do it because the episode that we just need to go straight into it .
Speaker 2So , michaela , you're sure , right into it . So get millie black . Uh , we've watched the entire series . So if you haven't watched it there's gonna be a whole bunch of spoilers . We're not holding back . So if you don't watch it and you want to watch it , make sure you go back , go watch it and then come back . But Get Millie Black is a HBO drama , crime drama series based in Jamaica and the UK , and it is starring Tamara Lawrence , which we've seen her in a lot of shows . We just talked about Boxing Day . She was also in may . I draw one blank . I'm going to draw from the notes . She was in Boxing Day Small Act , the Long Song , kindred , the Silent Twins A lot of things that have come out of the UK . She has been a part of Go on .
Speaker 1And a lot of those films , except for Kindred , were Caribbean focused . So the Silent Twins , yes um Small Axe .
Speaker 1We know about um , the , the , the Silent Twins stars what's her name ? From the TCR , right , right , and it's about these twins of Bayesian heritage who took a vow of silence and they were I had it on our list for us to review it kind of heavy still , but basically they put them in a asylum in I believe it was in Scotland and it's really around how the family because they just took this vow of silence and all of this . So the long song is , I think I believe , a PBS type thing and it's more of plantation era , slavery era period piece . But those are on our list whether we get to review them , but they may end up in a Reels list or something , but interesting .
Speaker 2Yeah , so she's done a lot of really great work . The series it's a short series of five episodes was written and produced by Marlon James . He is an amazing author writer out of Jamaica . If you've read some of his books I've only read the History of Seven Killings . I don't know if you've read or listened to anything else the first book I read was the Book of the Night Women .
Speaker 1My gosh , I was on the train . This was many years ago , it was Wulipa years ago and I remember I was on the train and , you know , many women stopped me . I was like , oh my gosh , this book is amazing . So that was the first book that I've read , and then A History of Seven Killings .
Speaker 2Yeah . So the writing is really great . We're not going to talk too much about it . But the premise of the plot is Tamara Lawrence . She plays the main character , who is Millie Jean Black . She is a former investigator at Scotland Yard , which is in the UK that's their detective unit and she goes back to Jamaica under the premise of burying her mother , who she has a strained relationship with which you don't immediately see .
Speaker 2But I love the opening of the entire series where it shows the house , because we go back to that house a lot and it really hit home in terms of the , the small little nuggets of of gems that you would get in terms of the storyline throughout the entire series itself . So what I really enjoyed about the the series is that it was a ongoing investigation in multiple layers and told by in the tone of each character's perspective . So as the story progressed and it's a signature , I think , of Marlon James in terms of how he writes . He writes about the same topic and moves it along , but does it by different perspectives , which I really enjoyed watching that play out in real time with the season itself . First , initial thoughts Keri , overall , holistically .
Speaker 1Holistically . I think it's like a good story . The story itself is a good story . It may try , because I know we're getting into that , but it's a really strong story . Lots of , as part of Jamaica's cinematic cinematic and I kind of said that all twangy cinematic . You know , I need to make sure somebody has pronounced the T then Part of Jamaica's cinematic repertoire of you know , the different genres of movies that we can bring forth . Yeah , I really liked that .
Speaker 2It was a crime drama yes , a crime drama , seriously , um , and I think not in a good way . You know , with all the crime that that has happened and continues to happen . I think you know jamaica's ripe for a lot of storytelling in the same way of like SVU , like that type of criminal drama detective Like . I really liked that play on . It's so different than what we've seen coming out from a storytelling perspective . It did tell a lot of the different aspects but I think that we've seen like Third World Cop or Rockers and like it has like those elements , but it's not like a true like crime . It's a gritty crime story .
Speaker 1No , it's what we call in America a procedural Right . It's taking you through the procedure of solving a crime , right , it's taking you through the procedure of solving a crime , right , yes , we're versus . You know , like following the crime as it happens . So it's like this crime is taking place . How are we going to go through this ? So , it's a . It's a , it's a balance between both of those . So , yes , I think it's very interesting . So , yes , I think it's very interesting . And because it's a Jamaican based film , the stories behind and this is where I'm very careful the stories behind why those crimes are committed , can be like parallel stories themselves . Right , so you have , the overall project is about solving for this crime , but why ? You know , if we look at the schoolgirl and her choice to be involved in that's a whole other , you know thing .
Speaker 2Yes , it was like layers of a story . So we open up the entire season with this case of Janet being missing . So that's the case that they're initially trying to solve for us . A good school girl who usually shows up to school on time does really well . One of the nuns of the school comes to report that she's been missing and they kind of question like , well , why are you coming and not her mom ? Because the mom is kind of there but not there really and I think that there's a layer there . You know she was birthed but not raised , in a sense even though , even though I questioned that towards the end , that is the perception of of of of .
Speaker 2that's the perception we get in the opening . You're right , you're right .
Speaker 1Yes , yes , and that's the perception we get in the opening .
Speaker 2In the opening , you're right , you're right , yes . And then it also follows Millie and why she is so engrossed in solving this particular crime . Right , she is remembering her childhood as a young person in Jamaica , why she even left , under the premise of why she left , so her not having a good relationship with her mom , along with her brother , orville , who is a transgendered young woman . You see her transition throughout the series , but essentially they both have a horrible relationship With their mom , particularly because the mom perceived Orville as being gay , very young and kind of was not Happy about that and really took that out on him as a child . And then , as he got older , he transitioned into Hibiscus , which we later know as bis , bis , bis .
Speaker 1Like the voice . The voicemail is like hello , this is bis State your business .
Speaker 2State your business . Yes , so you see that transition , that transition , and so , in essence , millie kind of stepped in the way of her mom attacking her younger brother and was sent away for it . So she got sent to England to live with family members and grew up there for the most part of her young adult , adolescent life , became a detective , which you don't see . All of this , right , you just get glimpse of her there . It's kind of like told in flashbacks if you will , and you know that there's a case that she couldn't solve that also involved a young boy . So there is this theme of the ghost of children , right , and the essence of children being taken throughout the entire series . They talk about ghosts very early and I'm surprised were you surprised that they didn't use the word Doppie versus ghost ? I was surprised at that , but not really . I guess it's just something I noticed .
Speaker 1Well , because a Doppie is Doppie , like the person is dead , I don't know , and it's more menacing . Yeah , that's true . Versus a ghost is a little less menacing in folklore . Yeah , that is true . How , the perception . But also I've been curious I was quietly trying to scribble this down why you think the mom sent away Millie and not Orville .
Speaker 2I doubt Millie that one , that two I'm like , but clearly she didn't like either of her children . To be quite frank , she blamed them for well . She blamed Orville for the father leaving her For the father leaving .
Speaker 1Yes , yeah , she blamed them for something For the father leaving . Her For the father leaving .
Speaker 2Yes , yeah , she blames them for the father she's essentially that frustrated , and I think that that's what Millie sees in Janet's mom right , this unfulfilled woman who has these children and are now taking it out on . And so for her , I think it kind of brings up this childhood thing and she goes off on a rail to try to find Janet , only to come to find out that there is a deeper story , that it will take .
Speaker 1Yes
The Complex Journey of Millie
Speaker 1, yes . So going back to the mom , you know I thought about why she never sent away Orville and why send away Millie , and I think the only thing I could come to she , she resigned to think that Orville , being the way he , is not normal because she was trying to beat it out of him . She determined that him life done and there was no , there was no future for him , and instead made the choice to send Millie away because maybe she can have a future versus Orville .
Speaker 2Now this I like that . I didn't really think about it , but it was a question in my mind , but I think we got past it so quickly that I didn't really take the time to kind of think about that . I do like that . I like that . Uh , that that reasoning that you're probably completely right , because she still called her brother . They kept in contact , it sounded like , even though she was in .
Speaker 1it does I don't think it was , I don't think , the mother and millie kept in contact . The mother , yeah , but she didn't . The mother then became a buffer or a barrier , yeah , so she , millie , had no contact and then she ended up calling millie to say her , you know all , the mother died right and um , even that die thing was it . Was it because , and , and , and this is all conjecture , we don't know for sure . What does that say ? Was it because , by the time the mother calls millie to say your brother is dead ? Is it when he finally decided to leave the house and go live in adegoli ?
Speaker 2are fully transitioned , fully transitioned to . It's when he fully transitioned .
Speaker 1Transitioned to being Bess .
Speaker 2He was no longer able to be saved In her eyes . Saved , yeah , and so I think that's what she meant by your brother dead , yeah . And the other part is in Millie's mind she never was able to kind of keep in contact with him or go back to see him , or it's almost like she has to grieve twice and she didn't even really get to do that .
Speaker 1So she's carrying this guilt and and the reason why audience we're we're kind of dwelling on this part , because this is the foundation by which Millie this is what she takes into her work as a police officer and where she , you know , in the UK , in Scotland Yard . And when she moved back to Jamaica , you know she was defending her brother . That led to the consequence of him being removed or taken , right , she didn't have access to him and you see in the flashes of her work in London or UK that she's always on these missing child's cases , right , and particularly there are boys . Again this thread of trying to save her brother or a little boy , and so the guilt of not being even in a position to defend her brother more so she took into her job as a police officer her inability to fully defend and care for her brother , right .
Speaker 1Then the one case that Donar , the one with Danielle in UK . She took the grief of that , compounded with the grief of our brother and coma Jamaica . No , get set on this case with Janet . And now she has something to prove because she's taken up this mantle of being , you know , trying to save or rescue at-risk kids or kids in danger , and , for better or worse , blindly , you know , going to it , do it on our own , because she don't trust nobody else to do it but her , and that's kind of where we find Millie . And that's kind of where we find Millie .
Speaker 2And it ultimately ends up getting her in all kind of trouble throughout the whole show because she thinks that she's the only one that can deliver on this particular case . So in some ways , instinctively , it has led her down a path and we see , at first it's a good thing , she uses it as fuel . But then we also see her spiraling and like Millie is doing the most by herself and she's just missing all of the clues and missing . She's moving too quickly and she's not bringing everyone , the people that want to see her win , up to speed , and I think that . But her instincts are correct in the sense that she is a she's a good , she's a great detective . But sometimes she does the most out of this personal guilt of not being able to quote , unquote , save or help her brother .
Speaker 2I was completely surprised when the brother I thought that the brother was dead initially until they the paperwork . And then it's like I watched that one episode and I felt like so much happened in that first episode . I was like , wow , this was a long episode , like a lot happened in that first episode . I was like , wow , this was a long episode , like a lot happened in this one episode . So it made me really keep watching , because and then I was pleasantly surprised that it was from different perspectives , um . So the first episode is from millie's perspective , the second episode is from bis's perspective .
Speaker 1Um so it was Millie Biss , the .
Speaker 2Holburn , yes , who is the white detective ? And he comes into play a little early Then , janet .
Speaker 2Yeah , and then the cop and then her partner . Yeah , so a the cop and then her partner , mm-hmm , yeah . So a lot of what we're talking about is happening in episode one , and so as we eventually go down this rabbit hole and find Janet , apparently Janet took up with one uptown boy who his family owns a lot of different businesses , which is , um , pretty typical to jamaica in terms of he's from a very well-to-do family , with somerville is his family and he , um , his , his family has a reputation of owning a lot of businesses , and so he is one of the younger characters I can't really tell how old he's older than Janet , but he's not old and so Janet is a school girl , so you could go figure school age . So she got to be like what , 16 , maybe 17 , dating this older business person , end up in a one scandal of a child trafficking , human trafficking , human trafficking . So we discovered that Janet isn't missing , but she has actually gone off to be with this boyfriend who is his family is .
Speaker 2We can't really tell , initially if his family is involved in a way where they are doing the trafficking and that really kind of evolves how Holborn is involved in and why he needs that same son . What name ? William , freddie , freddie . So Freddie is the son , so Janet is , is together with Freddie . Freddie owns , you know , a couple businesses as well which he has acquired under his , his dad's name , but he typically hangs out in in the ghetto part of jamaica as no , he , you .
Speaker 1He has his dad's name , but he's using his mother's maiden name . Yes , oh yeah , it was so . So when they couldn't find under somerville , under some of it , they found it under another name , which is his mother's maiden name , his mother's maiden name .
Speaker 2Okay , yes , yes , yeah , but that's where he has the business . This is under his mother , so he's trying to kind of separate himself and have his own identity outside of his father , in a very different part of Kingston , but you know , the island is not so big , so everybody know who him is and who his father is and he's still comparing him to him and his father and back up with Janet , because Janet worked at one front business .
Speaker 1Not intended . Yeah , but Janet was intentional for God seek out the business . But yes , janet , intentional for us to seek out the business .
Speaker 2But yes , janet , yes , come to find out , Janet , not for herself . Yes , go on with it .
Speaker 1No , Janet was on a mission . Without going into the detail , Janet was on a mission and I think this is the crux .
Speaker 2Why not the detail ? Kyle , the people that won .
Speaker 1Janet saw herself bigger than what everyone saw her as and Janet had bigger aspirations for her life . So , for instance , when the nun , the principal of the school , who , by the way , is Johnny's grandmother in Lime Tree Lane , so Johnny from Lime Tree Lane is the detective in there and the nun , I did not even recognize her . The nun plays Johnny's . You play Johnny's grandmother in Lime Tree Lane , and the woman who owned the club is none other than Patra .
Speaker 2Patra yes , I think she did so good in that role .
Speaker 1Yes , I loved her in that role . She reminded me of Chiquiquita in Belly .
Speaker 2It's the same thing the hairstyle , the way she goes .
Speaker 1Yes , real bad girl things . But when they were talking about some books she loves , she's like , oh , you'd be a good clerk of bank or secretary . And that boy , jen , is saying what you too , and not alone you think so books she loves , she's like , oh , you'd be a good clerk of bank or secretary , and and and that , that that was what made janet boil , because she's like , of all of the hard work she had to school , this is all in can see her secretary work yeah , janet was like no , and that is where she set her mind for say yo , she'll go find the money , man , and get herself off of the island by any means necessary , not verbatim , but in action , like by any means necessary .
Speaker 2Yes and so she gave herself a , a show . I mean , let's give it to her . Janet is very ambitious and she'll go after what she wants and she gets it , but she never know what it come with . Yeah .
Speaker 1And I think even towards the end I was like Janet , you're so naive because you know I mean , like you said , spoiler when she . I'm like Janet why you got take up with this . Amanya , you're dead already , janet , you don't know anything already . So I was just waiting .
Unpacking Ambition and Naivety
Speaker 1But going back to that , the level of premeditation that Janet put into this thing , it is wild , but it's a testament to what we didn't see , which is how bad was it in Janet's life that she went to this level of premeditation ? Because , as the viewer you know , being underestimated and only being thought of as a secretary or a bank teller , yes , that's offensive . But what is the home like ? What else is like driving this need to the levels of ambition and to basically committing crimes ? And just being naive , because at some point I'm like Janet for somebody so smart , yeah , I come like a little edie boo . But when the man , when Millie had her in the car and Freddie tell me that they would like my accent in , and Millie say maybe on him , but not you , you know , and she was like how could you live and never gone to these places ?
Speaker 2And Millie , I look upon her like you don't know what you're in for , what you're really talking about Freddie basically pack up our heads .
Speaker 1So that's kind of where the you know , her youth and being naive really blinded her because she just thought him just sell her everything and and also I think she underestimated freddie . When she go out and I go like she can't smoke , I'm basically a choke on the cigarette , freddie , kind of freddie pick up , freddie pick up , say okay , you , you want , you won't go america , you won't go foreign , you won't go American , you won't go foreign , you won't go foreign by any means necessary . And because of that she can be leveraged . But because she's so naive and focused on just this one end goal she can't even see the whole thing .
Speaker 2And I think the one perspective we didn't get was Freddie's . I think that his perspective to me would have been very interesting , because as you're kind of going through the series , you have this one idea about Freddy , up until the boat where he's killed , and you're like , oh , there's a whole Freddy never want no part of this .
Speaker 2Yeah , freddie just wanted to separate himself after finding out , like what was happening and how long was that and how involved was his family with the human trafficking . And then even talking about the expectation of what foreign is and what foreign look like , the people , them where them trick for , go foreign and hold them , trick them , and the situation where them put them in a , I don't think it's trick . I don't think it's trick Me , not think so them trick . But then it's almost like you're playing at the heartstrings of someone so desperate to get out of a situation Because we have them pack up like sardines and go work under the table and then I have to pay back this one and that one .
Speaker 2Them things say that I'm going to make enough money for them to pay them back . They take their passport and everything . So they're under the pretense of like a working visa . So they're under the pretense of like a working visa but like they're doing hard labor for and they got like they have no access . So you're thinking that it's this , come , hurry up and come up . And even as she was trying to warn Janet , it just wasn't . It wasn't . It wasn't going to stick with Janet until she reached out for an arrearacy , it wasn't going to stick with Janet until she reached a foreign and real estate .
Speaker 1My perspective was at the heart of this story is the crime story , the human trafficking story , but also and the topic that I'm doing the webinar this idea of leaving Jamaica by .
Speaker 1I don't want to say any means necessary , but you have to get out of your situation and this situation and again I'm not judging them , but for whoever is going into the situation , willingly doing that , looking at all the risk , right , they know everything about my family the question about that is that might be something that came after they've made the decision , because maybe upfront they wouldn't have known that that is how you're going to grab them . But to think that this is a better option than where you are in Jamaica , I think that's the part that is just like wow and that's why we said like within this very brief five episode series there are so many you know threads that you can pull on as a storyline about all of these people . Even the part where you know we're sitting down watching it and me and my husband is just like , as a parent , me a go , send somebody away with me , pitney , and I'll see where they ma go .
Speaker 2I was done , I was done , and that me a say , and that me did , I say I was done , I was done , I was done .
Speaker 1And it wasn't like they wanted to go , but the way old Jonathan and Freddie are scamming , I convinced them . But even then it's easy for me to say on the outside looking in , but I'm like on the first day of school I want to spot my picnic teacher , I want to see her face , I want to wait to make sure the picnic goes inside the building On the first day of school . You know , which is a five minute drive , much less their town , and the picnic all the way over Hanover , the other side of the island . You understand what I'm saying .
Speaker 2And also like to not do any research about the school or nothing . Again , playing on the desperation of ambition , and I think that's what it is . It's really like I said , just playing on the desperation to change your situation , have an opportunity and make the best of what the cards you have been given and you know , like you said , I was just like , oh , you send your picnic guy some school . I never even see the school , the principal , the teacher , the number , it's just honey . But then you think about like well , maybe she thought it was like a boarding school and it was like all of the like . I don't know , you don't know , you really really don't know . That's another perspective we could have gotten in terms of you know them taking the sun and like their reaction was missing . In terms of the series , I think his perspective would have kind of brought it really full circle . What was like one of the craziest moments for you that you Me lo pomenotes , what like unexpected moments throughout the series ?
Speaker 1There were a lot of them , a lot , a lot Elephants in the room aside , because we have to get to that . Honestly , I don't even know if it's surprising . I think it's the telling of the story right . So there were things that are . It feels like the underbelly of Jamaica was being put on full display , the part of it which we haven't gone through yet , we haven't touched on yet , and we're intentionally doing that because I feel like it's not separate and a part of the story , because that drives part of the
Explore Millie Black's Complexities
Speaker 1story . But it's easy to make that the center focus of this review . It's addressing things that are taboo , the Gully Queens , you know that whole- had you watched Gully Queens before the documentary Gully Queens before I ?
Speaker 1think I've seen it and I definitely knew that , like it's been reported , so , addressing things that Jamaicans typically know or talk about but don't really talk about , this uptown , downtown type thing and the face of who is an uptowner versus downtown , the level of crime , of crime like even when they come shoot up the house , like all of those and and and the , the violence against the gully queen , so all of those things were things that were just put on full display . They did not spear the violence , if that made sense . They didn't tone it . They didn't tone anything down , it was just like here Address .
Speaker 2But I mean , if you think about Today , today , not time time what do you Right right Time In this day and age ?
Speaker 1yes .
Speaker 2The graphic nature of which we even distribute news via WhatsApp . Like what gets shared , like there are videos where I'm like why are you sending me this ? I do not want to see this . Yeah , and it's like accidents . Something happened in our land . Two people are fighting , one catch up in our machete . Like they're not sparing that in our so I would not expect them to spare it in this movie , or the series in that way .
Speaker 1To be honest , I don't think that's much different from when I was growing up in Jamaica , Like when I was a little kid . Literally somebody get chop up you've seen it there .
Speaker 2Right then it being recorded and distributed .
Speaker 1I think that's the difference here to peer .
Speaker 2Is the difference ?
Speaker 1yes , it's the difference , the recording aspect , because you know you see somebody chop up , somebody get stabbed with ice pick , like those are things that you saw . Um . So again , it's just the video element of it . Um , that makes it a little different and more graphic . But particularly the lgbt plus theme in get millie black is something that's very different . That hasn't really been addressed in any other series , mainstream channel , mainstream or otherwise . Yes , that's what I was like thinking .
Speaker 2It's not just Jamaica , Like . I'm pretty sure that a version of that could exist in any underbelly of certain cities during a particular time and place , and I think we've talked about it or we've seen it discussed in open forums , but we haven't actually , aside from the Gully Queens documentary which I did watch I don't even remember it's a long time ago .
Speaker 1A long long time ago yeah .
Speaker 2And we were even talking about it . Like you go to Jamaica , you don't necessarily see that right , and you know you and I go back frequent enough , but it's not really in your way-a-pre every day when you did it , and there are certain things that even in the country you don't see as a visitor , as someone who lives there , and this was an exposure on a bigger level of what potentially exists or could happen . It's not just homelessness , it's homelessness and , you know , lack of respect for their choice of how they want to live as well . So I think I think the scene with this and them running , you know , hiding away from these men and eventually , you know being brutally beaten in more ways and it's a reoccurrence like that they were prepared . I'm kind of surprised they weren't more prepared coming out of the goalie as much times as they seem to get , you know , attacked . So that one scene for me . And then the scene where Millie just take upon , take the passport and just go back to England . I don't know why .
Speaker 1Millie just does the wildest thing . She's doing the most . First of all , Niko said I'm not going to England .
Speaker 2I wish I could go back there .
Speaker 1Well , and then Niko said the man must really check out for her because you can't bring they come and play some business and then the man sit down there and watch . The police are ready in business . Like the thing that was clear was Millie was just focused on Millie and what Millie had to get done , and it did not matter who was going to get caught in it , the only thing who was in her way .
Speaker 2She had to move them it didn't matter she had no business , she had to go in the wildfire .
Speaker 1In her way , she's going to move them , yeah it didn't matter .
Speaker 2It's not business . She's all going on fire for finding information about the liar man . Millie ever put herself in a drama and she just gets caught up every time . The faith that she has that somebody's going to save her , Millie , are you serious .
Speaker 1I don't think that somebody's going to save her . Millie , are you serious ? No , I don't think that somebody was going to save her . Millie had faith in herself to convince other people to see her cause . That's it . It wasn't faith to say you're going to save her . I know I am right and I'm going to make you see , Make sure you know you don't say me right . You don't say , oh know , it's me right . You know it's me . Yes , me right .
Speaker 2Meet .
Speaker 1Jess Millie , I meet Jess . Yeah , I'm curious . Have you read any articles about the series or reception to the series ?
Speaker 2So I did a search on Google about the reception , particularly the reception amongst people in Jamaica . But there's two things that I kind of came across . It is on HBO Max and so therefore , if you don't have HBO Max , you have to kind of pay for it as an app . So it's not freely accessible and it's not like it's in a movie theater where people are going to just pay the money to go and see it . So I think only certain people in Jamaica can actually watch it . That's one . So I think only certain people in Jamaica can actually watch it . That's one .
Speaker 2So I think the uproar that we probably would have seen , especially around the let's be transparent and clear . I think that the queerness and how it is addressed is very visual , it is very open and I think that there are still a lot of people who would have or don't want to watch it for that reason . But I do think that people who have seen it really liked the series itself . They even Jamaicans , jamaican-americans I've seen some comments around people in the UK kind of watching it and they kind of said the same thing . The UK kind of watching it and they kind of said the same thing .
Speaker 2I think we understand that there is still this room for critique around how we talk about queerness in Jamaica and you know , I think that that's open for discussion , but I think at the core of it it seems to be well-received as a crime drama , as a really good story . It really takes you through the journey and I think we also have the privilege of perspective , living here and understanding that we just live among people who are of different races , sexual identities and have been brought up in a way and have grown to just respect people and respect what they want to do . And I can't save the sentiment specifically in Jamaica from Jamaicans . But I think here I think it's really just a really good story and that's that to me . I think it really brought , like you said , the underbelly of what isn't really shown about Jamaica to light .
Speaker 2I was okay with the graphicness of it because it does happen , because it does happen and so it didn't bother me in that way and it was core to the storyline , but it also wasn't the core . Yeah , I think it was a huge part of the storyline . It was core to the story .
Speaker 1It wasn't core to the storyline . It was core to Millie's character development . Yes , um , because if Arville now Biss did not have this experience , it would not have set Millie on this path that she she's on absolutely , absolutely yeah
Analyzing “Get Millie Black” Rankings
Speaker 1all right , I agree , agree . Dear Time for the ratings . Time for the ratings . So accent , what is your score ? The policeman accent did a little weird . The partner I don't know Something about it did feel offish to me , but he's the only one .
Speaker 2Nah , I'm going to give it a five . Accent-wise , I'm going to give it a five . Nah , I'm gonna give it a five accent wise . I'm gonna give it a five because you know why . It also highlighted the different accents , even as Kingstonians no , I agree .
Speaker 1His one was the only one where I was just like what what is he ?
Speaker 2but remember , but remember you know it means a character that is playing a character . That is playing a character , so it's like you don't even know who he's . A character playing one type of character in the movie and then he's also playing he . He almost has like these two different identities as a police officer and a gay man as a police officer . So to me , like him , just him needed to put on some kind of accent . That just was prim and proper it . I don't know if it makes sense , but like that's why I didn't feel like he was off give it a 4.5 .
Speaker 1I'm a hard grader . Um okay character complexity and authenticity and portrayal of the characters . I give it a five .
Speaker 2I liked it .
Speaker 1What say you ? I liked it . I just felt like to your point . In the first episode there was a lot we got a lot about Millie Enough about Janet , but I wanted to see just a little bit more . So that's it , Storyline .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think I wanted to see more , but I think what we saw was good .
Speaker 1So , yeah , I'll stay with my five Yep Storyline , I would say , I'd still say a five . I like the storyline .
Speaker 2Yeah , music . Funny enough , I didn't pay that much attention to the music it was not memorable .
Speaker 1That's why I was just like wait , I don't remember nothing about it . I mean , there were some songs , but it wasn't memorable . And I think the reason why it wasn't memorable .
Speaker 2I was so engrossed in the story . Yeah , go on go on .
Speaker 1I think it wasn't memorable because everything else was just yeah , jamaican in your face . So the music was just like white noise , because we didn't necessarily need it as much , I mean , other than when the Gully Queen have them , have them version of their song , them when they sing or something . So because the music was really I can't even say like the music was native to the space , it felt like white noise that you didn't even notice it , because I know the music played when they go to the club and Patria walking , I know the music .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , you know the music was there . You hear some tune , you hear the music when she go to the little spooky bar . You know what I mean . Like , the music is there . It's just that we never really yeah , it was in the background , so we never really pay attention to it . So if it's in the background but we know it was there , like can we give it like a ? What's the grade for that ? If , if it wasn't memorable ?
Speaker 2Three and a half . Yeah , I gave it Honestly . Yeah , because it wasn't memorable and I think what's interesting is , of all the movies and series and shows that we've watched , I think that this is the first time where we didn't really notice the music . Yeah , I would give it a hard three , three and a half .
Speaker 1No , I gave it a three . I gave it a three , all right . So I'm with you on the three Visual authenticity .
Speaker 2No , maggie gave it a 4.5 and the only reason why mega took off the 0.5 is because mino said millie never get from yasso to deso in that amount of time because the amount of at all in a king's turn and then trafalgar and hope , never , hope will never meet no , no , they they , they .
Speaker 1They chose scenes , they chose scenes . Yes , I gave it a five and what got me was when they went into the park on the hill , the slope on the hill , because they might go on the Somerville property .
Speaker 2I said there's a hill like that everywhere , no other than that . Like the scenes , like it was so funny because I just came back from Kingston from a funeral and I was , you know , driving downtown . Like I saw where you know , the funeral home was Juicy Patty . Like that , kingston , downtown , kingston , the scenes where Janet is running . Where Janet is running , many people said plenty of people were running there and so many people said , oh , the police officer drives so fast and fine , because it never would have gone so fast .
Speaker 1No , it's empty because they're filming at night . Anyway , the other thing that was you . I'm sure you picked up on it Anytime . So the house , the childhood house there's a house like that everywhere in Jamaica .
Speaker 2Yes , and that means , why should you leave the gate closed ? No , no , no , you never unlock the door .
Speaker 1Yes , because , guess what ? There's a rule If a person opens the gate and doors open , you're walking in there . You don't know if a shotgun will meet you at the front door , so it's fine . But also , anytime you saw imagery of that house , it's dark . It's like a really grayed out type vibe . You always feel like it's about to get dark . No little sunlight , no little sunshine . It was just dark .
Speaker 2The cinematography was really good . Yeah yeah , it was really good . It was nice to see and it wasn't just like the beaches and I think that the treatment that they gave it overall it had this like dark thing about it and I actually enjoyed it a lot . So , yes , 4.5 .
Speaker 1Yeah , that's the overall score , so what way are you ? Getting . Yeah , it's 4.5 .
Speaker 2Great , all right , get Millie Black . So I'm hoping that they do season two with a completely different storyline . I think that it could be a crime drama series in my opinion . Hope then fire Millie . You know they can find a way to bring her back , or Millie go to a private investigator , or Millie go , turn private investigator . Yeah , run into a private investigator , and I think we didn't even we didn't even really get to understand how intricate this syndicate was . Like I'm like let me rewind because I want to really understand .
Speaker 1Not even him .
Speaker 2How the family didn't mix up on who is who and which ganga . Do you care Apart with them , went on it like it was a lot to kind of connect , and they still really did not show the intricacy of the , the plot around the human trafficking itself trafficking itself .
Speaker 1Well , I think that is for later development . But also it also kind of felt sped up towards the end where we have to hurry up and get the pitney back on . So I get budget-wise maybe they had five episodes , so they kind of sped up certain things .
Speaker 2That's why I'm saying you could have a season two or just have a new case or something Plentiful inspiration .
Speaker 1Not true ? Yeah , I mean , let me say this Janet's story , alone Janet's story alone .
Speaker 2Welcome to Janet . Janet , become the detective . Get Janet back .
Speaker 1No , janet dead , dead , dead , but yeah .
Speaker 2Poor Janet .
Speaker 1I didn't know , janet was just too , too naive , no , but she was also . She was so tunnel focused that she couldn't even see the bigger picture . But anyway , she never realized that she was so distrusting of women that she couldn't even see that Millie was trying to help her . Yeah , so yeah .
Speaker 2Man , you dropping gems at the end of the episode . Lord God , all right , we can't go no more . We can't go no more .
Speaker 1All right , everyone . That's it for this episode of reels and rhythms and um , stay tuned for the next one . I will leave . Well , for watch , not enough time , but you know , make what you think about the episode or the series or whatnot . So , all right , until next time , look more , walk , good , all these things later .
Speaker 2Bye , guys , bye .
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