On The Count Of Three Review: A Strikingly Empathetic Black Comedy
The black comedy is by nature a fraught genre. There will always be those who object to the voicing of societal taboos, especially in a humorous way, but it seems especially so in this current cultural moment. Even if the political discourse surrounding so-called «cancel culture» is overblown (and more applicable to mean-spirited provocateurs), this is an age of content warnings, when the average viewer is far more conscious of how the onscreen depictions of certain sensitive topics can impact their fellow audience member. To find success today, black comedy movies require a more empathetic touch, and this is exactly the word that best describes On the Count of Three. Even if weaker in one half than the other, Jerrod Carmichael's directorial debut is remarkable, not for walking the thin line between comedy and drama, but making it feel like that line never really existed.
On the Count of Three begins with a quick look at its simple, morbid setup — two childhood friends, Val (Carmichael) and Kevin (Christopher Abbott), stand with guns aimed at each other at point-blank range, ready to commit simultaneous double-suicide. Flashing back to earlier that morning reveals that Val, disillusioned with his job and having just ended his long-term relationship with Natasha (Tiffany Haddish), busted Kevin out of the hospital for this purpose. After years of treatment for mental illness to no relief, Kevin had tried to take his life three days earlier, and Val reports that, when he heard the news, that line of thinking just made sense to him. While he doesn't object to the scheme, Kevin requests one last day to live without consequences, allowing the two to confront their past traumas and present dissatisfaction with more honesty than
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