Emergency

Director: Carey Williams
Starring: RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter, Maddie Nichols, Madison Thompson, Diego Abraham
Running Time: 105 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Carey Williams' Sundance award-winning Emergency is a clever little film masquerading as a formula campus comedy before turning around to deliver something of slightly deeper significance. It's actually gotten a fair amount of critical praise, and while some of that's overblown, a lot isn't, especially considering how it dropped on Prime with little hype. So anyone on the fence about giving it a look should be pleasantly surprised by how much their expectations are exceeded. As one of those fun, debaucherous college comedies that revolve around a group of guys stumbling into a heap of trouble, it's solidly entertaining, before taking a darker, more volatile turn, ensuring it will inspire a decent level of discussion and debate. 

There were probably more than a dozen directions this story could have gone, but KD Dávila's script takes a road less traveled in the genre, and that's clear from the opening scene during which an extremely awkward classroom topic sets the table for what's to come. It manages to elicit big laughs, even as we might want to bury our heads in discomfort. Of course, that's exactly the point, as the movie immediately puts us on notice that we have no excuse to squirm since the main characters have far more reason to for the remainder of the film's length. One of whom makes all the right choices before being confronted with the scary realization that only one thing really mattered, and regardless of how much he tries to follow the rules and act nobly, there's just no escaping it. 

Long time best friends and college seniors Sean (RJ Cyler) and Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) have set a goal to become the first black men to complete their campus' "Legendary Tour" of frat parties in a single night. But plans are complicated when they arrive at friend Carlos' (Sebastian Chacon) house and discover an unconscious white woman named Emma (Maddie Nichols) lying on his living room floor. Stoned out of his mind and plugged into his video games, Carlos seemingly has no idea who she is or how she got there. Kunle immediately wants to call the police, but Sean refuses, knowing the suspicions that will be raised because of the color of their skin. 

As the guys debate between anonymously dropping Emma at a frat party or leaving her in front of the hospital, the girl's frantic older sister Maddy (Sabrina Carpenter), along with friend Alice (Madison Thompson) and toga-clad Rafael (Diego Abraham) are tracking her via phone. With Sean, Kunle and Carlos driving Emma around in their van trying to keep her awake and formulate a plan, the situation soon becomes worse than they could have anticipated. While good and bad decisions are made by both sides, the result is a communication breakdown that quickly careens toward potential tragedy and a night no one involved will ever forget.

Adapted from Williams and Dávila's 2018 short film of the same name, the two lead protagonists at first seem to have such wildly divergent personalities that it's almost puzzling they're close friends.  Sean's presented as a waste of potential, more interested in vaping, drinking and completing this frat party marathon than his future. The much more reserved, quieter Kunle has a good head on his shoulders as a budding scientist is preparing to go to Princeton while Sean frequently makes cracks about him not being "black enough." But when the unconscious Emma is discovered on Carlos' floor, none of this matters much, as this catastrophe becomes the great equalizer, with all of them knowing just how badly the cops could react to three minorities with a passed out white girl. 

Sean is easily the most terrified of that scenario, as his adamant refusal to involve law enforcement causes the situation to spiral, quickly closing their window to do what should technically be the right thing. But given all that goes down, it's suddenly harder to question Sean's philosophy or deny that his dire predictions aren't playing out in the worst possible ways.

Cyler plays Sean as this unpredictable live wire that balances out Watkins' shy, uptight Kunle, making for an effective contrast that only enhances the tension when both are pulled so far out of their comfort zones that panic takes over. Even with the most to lose, Kunle's actions are admirable enough to border on heroic, but the script challenges our expectations by having his morality amount to nothing in this context. It's a hard slap in the face in the middle of some undeniably funny comedic hijinx, most of which is provided by the high and flustered Carlos, who's played with Andy Samberg-like flare by Sebastian Chacon, alternating between total cluelessness and genuine heart-on-his sleeve concern for this girl. 

As Maddy and friends closes in on her sister's whereabouts, Sabrina Carpenter has to do some heavy dramatic lifting in the film's most kinetic sequence and delivers, while still giving her character some shading that suggests she isn't without blame or personality faults. You could argue the third act might have one more ending than necessary, but it lands on the right one that stings, implying that what happened won't easily be shaken off and has left some serious psychological scarring, particularly for one character. Coming full circle, it subtly calls back to the opening classroom sequence about how little is still understood about both the power and emptiness of words. You can say all the right things and have the best intentions, but without the sincerity to back them up with action, it won't mean much. 

As an entry into what's become the increasingly rare "night of chaos" subgenre, this is one of the better ones, and the social commentary doesn't seem force fed so much as springing from the situation at hand. Even the usual dissenters who'd want nothing to do with this would have to admit the themes are skillfully woven into the plot's fabric and generate earned pathos. That Emergency is able to provide this many consistent laughs and successfully flip on a dime into more serious territory speaks to Williams' patience. He takes his time, sprinkling small moments throughout that separate these characters from the cardboard cutouts found in most college-set comedies. It's as if Judgment Night met Very Bad Things, only smarter and funnier, capped off with a finish that gives us good reason to anticipate whatever Williams does next.