Debut: 'Eviction'

There is a famous saying, “There is no honor amongst thieves.” This speaks to the idea that what may drive someone to commit a crime is that a moral line has already been crossed, and if one line is crossed, then it becomes easier to cross another. This is an idea reflected throughout James Lau’s 2022 short film, Eviction.

Eviction follows three friends, Jackie (Waylon Luke Ma), Kenny (Wesley Mbeka), and Chris (Jason Njorge). Chris and Kenny are both facing financial hardship; the film opens with Kenny reading an eviction letter in his dimly lit home before angrily swearing. Jackie’s family is about to lose their takeaway shop. A causal line by Jackie suggests that the racism directed at Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic is behind the lack of customers, as people are afraid to get sick from the food sold at their shop.

The three friends band together to rob the house of Kenny’s wealthy landlord; however, upon breaking into what they thought was an empty house, they realize the landlord’s son is home. This sets off a dark chain of events that test their morality and the notion of honor amongst thieves, or in this case, friends.

From the opening scene of Jackie, Kenny, and Chris interacting in the car before breaking into the house, the film has an almost Guy Ritchie heist vibe. Their banter is playful yet grounded, establishing them as friends and as comfortable individuals with one another.

The film’s color tone is muted, shot largely in cold grays. This works in the film’s favor, as when blood is, perhaps inevitably, shed, it stands out against the pale palette of the rest of the film. The first moment of violence and the long shot of a body lying in blood is a shocking moment, and the performances of the three leads reinforce this shock at the violence that has occurred.

There is an underlying theme of institutional racism in this short film. The driving factor of the three friends, all of whom are minorities, committing a crime is because they are all so desperate for money they have no other option, reflecting the unfortunately timeless story of minority groups so broken by an unfair system that they turn to a life of crime, becoming trapped in a cycle of violence.

This institutional racism is also seen in the house of their landlord, an older white man. When the three men first enter the house, there is a lingering shot of a golden statue of Buddha. This is a seemingly innocuous detail, perhaps included to show wealth, but there is then a shot of Jackie, about to break into a safe, gazing at artwork hanging on the wall clearly in an Asian art style. 

One assumption can be the face value; these are expensive art pieces, and the landlord is wealthy. But looking deeper, one can see a commentary on the white fetishization and “exoticizing” of Asian and non-White culture. The White family sees a statue of Buddha, a religious figure, as a symbol of monetary, not religious, value. Similarly, do they see the Asian artwork on the wall by the safe as “exotic,” perhaps not understanding the cultural meaning behind it

This is further exemplified by the landlord’s son, whom the viewer learns is in the house well before Jackie, Kenny, and Chris. The son is introduced dancing in the bathroom to a rap song, not the most unusual thing in the world, until one hears the song's lyrics. The artist sings about his disdain for police and not knowing what the next day may bring, harkening back to the music of gangsta rap, which emerged in Black communities as a way of reclaiming the “gangster” image pushed by Ronald Reagan’s anti-drug campaign.

The son, an upper-class young white man, clearly hears the song as just a beat, just another song to dance to, not really listening or being moved by the lyrics, which clearly paint a picture of a man pushed to his limits by authority and an unfair system.

Eviction is an impactful and entertaining look at what happens to people when their back is pushed against the wall by an unfair system rooted in racism and ignorance towards lower-class people. The ending may not be what one initially hopes for going into the film, but perhaps that is the point. When people suffer and their hand is forced, no one truly wins.