In Nnamdi Asomugha’s film, co-written and executive produced by Mark Duplass, a man trying to protect his family becomes the suspect in a menacing police investigation.

A palpable tension permeates Nnamdi Asomugha’s unsettling feature directorial debut The Knife. It’s evident from the opening sequence, in which Chris (Asomugha), a young Black father, returns to his family after a long day of work. As he slinks into his daughters’ bedroom to say goodnight, the tension holds. It’s still there when he snuggles next to his wife, Alex (How to Get Away With Murder and Lessons in Chemistry star Aja Naomi King), in bed. 

Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, The Knife explores what choice and safety look like for Black people in America. Asomugha, who co-wrote the screenplay with his executive producer Mark Duplass, tackles these familiar themes with a visceral frankness. He includes scenes, especially near the end, that highlight with a chilling matter-of-factness how quickly a life can unravel. Even though Asomugha sometimes capitulates to clichéd narrative choices or visual tropes, The Knife maintains an impressively nauseating level of anxiety. 

The Knife is at its strongest during these interrogative scenes, when the police presence destabilizes Chris’ home. It becomes an unsteady and dangerous site, filled with indicting objects. Pain medication that Chris takes for his back becomes evidence of nefarious activity. The kitchen, where the inciting action took place, turns into a sinister reminder of an irrevocably changed existence. 

The detective’s conversation with Chris, Alex and their two children Ryley (Aiden Price) and Kendra (Amari Price) reveals how America’s carceral state works against Black people. The notion of innocence until proven guilty is upended by the system’s violent belief in Black criminality. Asomugha envelops the audience in this claustrophobic reality through close-ups. The intimate perspective evokes the feeling of being in the room as Carlsen uses the family’s testimonies to construct a shocking narrative. Her comments about trying to get to the truth become more sinister with each invocation. The question, then, is: whose truth? 

Asomugha opens The Knife with a voiceover from Chris about advice that his grandmother gave him. It goes something like this: Life presents choices and each choice has a consequence. This framing sets The Knife up to be a simpler story than it is. What is a “choice” in a rigged system? As Chris and Alex try to save themselves and their family, Asomugha makes his way toward gripping and complicated queries.

Still, the cast delivers. Aiden Price and Amari Price solidly portray siblings under duress, nailing some particularly poignant scenes that show the specific pressures Black children face under this system. Asomugha and King play Chris and Alex as a familiar, upwardly mobile couple reaching for their version of the American dream. Early in the film, they revel in thoughts of raising their kids in a real home. The possibility of losing this future is what makes The Knife a story not just of horror, but of heartbreak.