Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) feels like he is sleepwalking from day to day. A college professor in Connecticut, he no longer enjoys teaching since losing his wife. When he attends a professional conference in NYC, Walter discovers something incredible. He walks into his NYC apartment, which he hasn't been to in many months, and finds two people living there. Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his girlfriend Zainab (Danai Gurira) thought they were in the apartment legally, but they had been victims of a real estate scam. Tarek, a Syrian, and Zainab, a Senegalese, have no where else to go. Walter takes pity on them and allows them to stay with him. This sets up a life-altering situation for all of them.
Tarek is a wonderful drummer. Not the kind of drums you play with sticks. He plays the African drum. In time Tarek teaches Walter to play and this gives the older man a sense of accomplishment, having failed to learn the piano earlier. The two men become friends and the camaraderie is entertaining to watch. The first half of the movie is enjoyable however when Tarek gets arrested, things take a dark turn.
This is one of those films that, excuse me for getting on a soapbox, pits the "big, bad American government" against the "poor, nice, illegal immigrant." Tarek and Zainab are in the country illegally. They don't have documentation to be here, so Tarek is taken to a detention facility. Then Tarek's mother arrives from Michigan to find out what happened to her son because he hasn't called her in several days. Walter invites her to stay in his apartment while they try to find out Tarek's fate.
Tarek keeps insisting he didn't do anything wrong. Well, being here without proper papers is not right, but the filmmakers don't get into this side of the matter. Walter takes on a new mission in his life. He hires an attorney to get Tarek out of detention, and in the meantime his friendship with Tarek's mother deepens.
The bright spot in this film is Richard Jenkins who carries the entire film on his shoulders. He is a wonderful actor and deserves more starring roles.
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