The Tenants (2005)
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32% of critics liked it
(19 reviews) -
28% of users liked it
(87,320 ratings)
A pair of writers inhabiting an abandoned New York tenement building become locked in an antagonistic battle of wills in director Danny Green's adaptation of novelist Bernard Malamud's studied exploration of faltering race relations. The time is the early '70s, and Jewish writer Harry… More A pair of writers inhabiting an abandoned New York tenement building become locked in an antagonistic battle of wills in director Danny Green's adaptation of novelist Bernard Malamud's studied exploration of faltering race relations. The time is the early '70s, and Jewish writer Harry Lesser (Dylan McDermott) is finally nearing completion on the novel that has taken him almost a decade to write. The last tenant in a crumbling inner-city apartment building, Harry soon discovers that he is no longer alone in the building when an illegal squatter named Willie (Snoop Dogg) claims a room down the hall and begins writing his own novel. When Harry attempts to offer writing advice to his new neighbor, his criticism of Willie's "immature" writing style ignites a heated confrontation between the pair that is quickly compounded by the growing relationship between Harry and Willie's white girlfriend Irene (Rose Byrne). As the situation quickly spins out of control and Willie sets fire to the only existing copy of Harry's treasured manuscript, the deep-rooted racial animosity explodes into rage and the two writers become locked in a life-or-death struggle to survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Danny Green
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Feb 3, 2006 Wide
- Studio
- Millennium Films
Critic Reviews
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Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Alternately tedious and bombastic, the film never achieves a consistent tone, and the characters and situations, while seemingly played on a realistic level, are neither remotely credible nor satisfyingly surreal.
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Kyle Smith, New York Post
Snoop Dogg and Bernard Malamud don't often pop up in the same sentence, but they make an effective combination in a quiet little indie called The Tenants.
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Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Unremittingly bleak and hopelessly outdated.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
The message about race relations in America conveyed by this choppy and psychologically cauterized screen adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1971 novel is dire.
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Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
The stage is set for a full-scale racial conflict, but neither actor is really up to the task.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Cast
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Dylan McDermott
as Henry Lesser
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Snoop Dogg
as Willie Spearmint
- Rose Byrne
- Seymour Cassel
- Niki J. Crawford
- Aldis Hodge
