Youre walking a thin line here, sport. But lo and behold, Jerry has an idea for an assignment that Christian would be willing to do. Ben: What Monique does know is that right after this happened, her mom made a big move. And I hate the idea of somebody not being able to help heal themselves because somebodys keeping information from them. Layla the 18-month-old Tabby found refuge on the family's chicken coop after swimming about 150 metres through raging floodwaters. Monique: My mom started getting really heavily into drugs and that resulted in my aunt actually getting custody of me. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Culture Clash:A journalist takes it upon himself to investigate the case of a missing 10-year-old girl because he thinks the police arent doing enough in the investigation. She's excellent. I felt it was missing something not sure what it was but something was missing.i felt it tried to hard.good attempt though. Now, she said, Were excited, and were thanking God thats shes been found alive.. 5 min read. Monique Watson, as Michelle called herself, scurried to a back room, told employees she had to deliver a message to a housekeeper and vanished as the family friend called the McMullen family.. I got kidnapped because I was dumb enough to go in the car." She works odd jobs to make ends meet. "I was not encouraged to leave Pennsylvania, I was not kidnapped or forced to stay somewhere that I didn't want to be. Its Christian Baker (played by Johnny Whitworth), a somewhat cocky journalist who works for the fictional New York City daily newspaper The Chronicle. Ben: Legal matters aside, theres something else Monique is focused on right now. Because Still Here lazily throws in as many negative African American clichs as possible in the movie, the Watson family lives in public housing. Regardless, shes on a mission to solve the mystery of what happened to her. Its something shes changing. The assignment lands in the hands of journalist Christian Baker, who at first goes with the first lead, turning the entire case up side down. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 + wrapper.width() + wrapper.css('padding').replace('px', '') * 2); She had roommates, and got a job at the Creative African Braids and Beauty shop, a Korean-run salon owned by Leemu Topka. A look at the Still Here behind-the-scenes crew and production team. Tho cops are a bit overblown but all of the evets portrayed ring true. Click a location below to find Latasha more easily. She told him she was hiding from an abusive man in Louisiana. Sacha Baron Cohen Has Screened A Secretly-Filmed Sequel To Borat. It's more like, after a while, she has to help herself. Christian thinks that the only way for the police to jumpstart the investigation into Moniques disappearance is if the police are shamed into it by a news report that says that the police overlooked a suspect. His irresponsible boss Jerry agrees. Amory: She wrote the post, and went to bed. If her family wont talk, the other girl who was abducted might be the only person left. are doolittle trailers any good; turkey trot madison, ct 2021; full swing golf simulator vs foresight Kat Ramzinski: This was one of those cases that definitely caught my eye. "She was pretty upset, she was crying and she was pretty scared," he added. Ben: The show featuring stories found in the vast ecosystem of online communities called Reddit. I know it's a movie but it's all to real day to day life for many black people living in America. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. Meet Monique Watson! She phoned Michelle's parents, who immediately called Harrisburg police to report Michelle missing. Having been a reporter and a detective, I found this film very authentic . Michelle got right back on the road. Anyone who has lived in a major city in the USA and known people of color will find that part of iut relateable. But there are a lot of people who are really scared to just take that first step. } I don't consider her somebody else.". Afton Williamson, Baboucarr Camara, Danny Johnson, drama, Jared Kemp, Jeremy Holm, Johnny Whitworth, Justiin Davis, Larry Pine, Maurice McRae, movies, reviews, Steven Hauck, Still Here, Vlad Feier, Zariah Singletary, Zazie Beetz. Monique: When my mom told me she was selling drugs, I knew that I couldn't tell anyone. But she left behind clues. Reggie has noticed that Christian is wearing an expensive watch, so its no surprise that Reggie tells Christian that he wont reveal any more information until Christian gives Reggie the watch, which Christian reluctantly and foolishly does. Monique: Then he did take us back to his car but he made us get undressed. She could be a Jane Doe patient in any hospital between the midstate and Louisiana. "This blew out of proportion," he said. We just got back from the beach. Because when you keep that in for so many years, it just eats you up. She's truly a good person who made a mistake.". She always tried her best. All of them were so supportive. . Because they were black. The actors in this movie dont do anything particularly outstanding. In the real world of New York City newspaper journalism, a dolt like Christian wouldnt last on a crime beat, let alone be given front-page assignments, because hes just so bungling and willfully ignorant of how crime investigations work. Regardless, this was difficult for Monique to learn. I want to go everywhere! I said I can help you with some money, but I can't hire you. var captainformThemeStyle = {}; IN A NUTSHELL: It was about 5.30pm when Paul's whistles got the attention of rescuers in a BP Surf . "He said, 'Yeah, she got some explaining to do with me,'" her father said. Fast-forward nearly three years, when she was caught. Its as simple-minded and formulaic as it sounds. A New York journalist who gets assigned the story of a missing African-American young girl, risks his career and takes the matter into his own hands trying to find her. "I really didn't have a plan. Our site uses cookies. And the performance of the entire cast is superb but the guy that played the dad.man you need your own reward. But bail isn't based on that. This guy was always around. Because she made it clear she could get in trouble for that. By what name was Still Here (2020) officially released in Japan in Japanese? "I decided to leave," she wrote in a police confession when she was caught in January. And the fact that it will probably be a fellow African American doesnt seem to bother him in the least. In California, Danielle moved around a bit -- spending time in Piedmont and Hayward before settling in Oakland. I couldn't take them and it was hard to overlook. I watch STILL HERE this weekend and l have to say it was a great movie! Martin said she should be brought back to the area within seven to 10 days, and he does not expect to file any more charges against her. I will definitely recommend this movie to a friend. Do you know what happened to you?" Ben: Two, its highly unlikely that police could dredge up physical evidence of what happened to Monique 15 years ago. The irony of Michelle's story is that even if found guilty, she probably would not have spent any time behind bars had she stayed and faced her alleged crimes in 2008. She is a family to me. }, 50); In September 2008, she drove her 6-year-old son from Louisiana, where she was attending school, to Harrisburg and left him with her parents. The episode is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's short story : The Adventure of the Gre When twelve-year-old African-American Monique Watson goes missing in Brooklyn, the police are apathetic and her father Michael is distraught. McMullen disappeared while police were investigating the theft of about $10,000 from Progress-Immanuel Presbyterian Church, where she worked. Includes Address (11) Phone (1) Email (1) See Results. Among some old clips of The Ventura County Star newspaper. The acting and the photography are both marvelous. Amory: A lot of Moniques life has not been routine. With the porn magazines, until recently after this all came out, I was like, Wait do not all males keep porn magazines in their car? And it made me realize there's so much trauma that I've been through that I kind of just normalized it. And she's like, "Do you even know who this guy is? I have a lot of plans, I have a lot of dreams. how many super bowls did dan marino win. The scene shows what can happen when someone is brought in for questioning by police and that person doesnt know enough about their rights to ask for a lawyer, which (by American law) would put a stop to the questioning. It's about the likelihood someone will show up for her next court hearing. Ben: Part of the reason is that shes estranged from her family, and her abduction is a touchy subject. But the stuff that she went through as a kid, the remaining questions about her abduction, it was all still there. Monique: I don't have good communication with my family. This screen capture from a screening of of "Disappeared" shows Michelle McMullen, center, along with an unidentified woman. Tiffany doesnt do much in this movie, except cry near a candle-lit, living-room shrine thats dedicated to Monique and plead with Michael not to lose his temper when he gets angry over how the investigation is being handled by authorities. resize77260563fffe99d7859(wrapper); The routine of a college kid. What did you do at practice? This brings down a series of pains. In fact, children go missing around the world. What story ? ", One of the first things Michelle did when she came back was sit down with her son. She was like, "None of that, nothing happened. One of her clients recognized her as Michelle after watching a rerun of the Investigation Discovery show. After Christian gets this rude awakening that being a white journalist doesnt automatically mean that hell be welcomed with open arms in certain neighborhoods, he goes back outside and tries to get some more information from Reggie, whos hanging out in the same place with his friends. Maurice McRae on Emotional Drama of Still Here [Exclusive Interview], Johnny Whitworth on Playing An Investigative Journalist in Still Here [Exclusive Interview], Jeremy Holm on Playing a Conflicted Cop in Still Here [Exclusive Interview], The Mandalorian S3 Episode 1 Review: ROUGH START!!! window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ It had been a long day for the "rookie" rescue crew who . Amory: The title of her post reads, I was abducted as a child. It was posted to the Reddit Bureau of Investigation community, which is described as quote using the power of the internet to solve real world problems., Ben: Moniques post was just a few paragraphs, describing the town she was in when it happened, some other vague details. And it was like, "Now what do I do? jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); She decided to ask her god-mother for more information. AllRightsReserved. Danielle was handcuffed and taken to the police station for fingerprinting to prove who she was. Still Here repeatedly uses the Watson familys social class as a way to make these African Americans look as pitiful as possible, so that when the savior comes along, he can look even more like a noble do-gooder. captainformCustomVars['772605'] = ''; ", In Oakland, hairdresser Leemu Topka still thinks of her as a daughter. It contains a police report with her name on it. She spent several months homeless, slipping away from police who were strained for good tips. She told us that.". "I felt sorry for her," he said. She used them only to pay for school, he said. And after that, I was reunited with my mom. And I'm really grateful because my god-sisteractually moved from Las Vegas to live with me. Christian walks around a cluster of housing projects, and then asks a group of four young African American men hanging around outside the buildings if they know where the Watson family lives. She didn't have the best life growing up. She took Interstate 81 south and drove until her car ran out of gas near a Volvo truck plant in Hagerstown, Md. He finds out the name of the taxi driver and tells his editor boss Jerry that this taxi driver is probably the suspect that the police have overlooked. TV Shows. "People do some of the darnedest things," Michael McMullen said. Shes got a boyfriend. The dramatic film Still Here desperately tries to look like its got a higher social conscience than the average B-movie, but the results are phony, awkward and downright dumb. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on Tuesday . She goes home, maybe a little more school work. else if ('' == 'right') Christian introduces himself and tells Michael that hes from The Chronicle and wants to help with the investigation into Moniques disappearance. Real, strong and touching story so much so that it made me have a better understanding of the tumultuous world we all live in today. Still Here is currently playing in select theaters and on VOD. resize77260663fffe99d76c9(wrapper); }); The lies, the avoidance -- it was all necessary for survival. She has taxed the efforts of law enforcement in not just our state, but now across the country.. Amory: For now, Moniques focused on her next semester at college. Amory: This Mary Poppins of libraries known as Pseudonymph on Reddit also had a useful tool at her disposal: access to pay-walled newspaper databases. } I think I looked up Amber Alert, I looked up the city she was in at the time and a date range. Patel wanted to help her. But when police got to the hotel, she was gone. Some of her previous jobs include a real estate agent. "I knew that if I talked to my parents, they'd convince me to go back home, and I was still afraid.". She's always tried to be the best mom she could be for me. And she immediately turned the bike around, started chasing after us, yelling. ; 17.57% of Monique Watsons have university degree, while 12.16% have only high school diploma. Still Here was a Limited release in 2020 on Friday, August 28, 2020. It was Jan. 27. There are cases of white-collar theft for far more money in which defendants are sentenced to probation as long as they pay back the money. I didn't have a concept of what that was. Most of them are men. She left her child with a friend and made the woman promise to say nothing until Tuesday morning. One thing led to the other, and it spiraled out of control. My aunt treats me this way because I am I'm not good enough. So I was like, Okay, yeah, he's a friend. We got in his car. Hard movie to watch. She hasnt known the name of her abductor. And soon her moms habit lead to other habits. Monique: We were so hungry, we ended up going to Carl's Jr. and they gave us these kids meals, the star-shaped nuggets, and that's kind of useless information because I don't remember anything else but I remember those star-shaped nuggets. All rights reserved (About Us). She became part of a family. Shes wondered if it had to do with Child Protective Services. was a college student, a single mom, a beloved daughter whose disappearance worried her family for more than two years. Michael is highly suspicious of Christians motives for getting involved in the investigation, because he thinks that Christian just wants to exploit the familys pain and not help them. "They missed her by minutes," Thornton said. With public interest waning and time running out, Michael and Christian race to uncover the truth - and find Monique, before its too late. This website is using Google Analytics. And we spent maybe two, three hours just Googling two girls kidnapped, found at park, dates, everything that we could to just try to find something. type: "text/javascript", var captainformThemeStyle = {}; And since the memories are traumatic, digging into them has also been really scary. The question of whether she was ever abducted, as her parents believe, or simply ran away to avoid charges, as police believe, might be settled in a courtroom. Oops! Patel had grown suspicious of how fast she picked up on computer skills, but he bought her a laptop and allowed her access to his credit cards and other equipment. For 15 years, all Monique has had are the fragments. Because she's considered a flight risk, Michelle has spent four months behind bars, waiting for a trial that hasn't been scheduled. With the exception of a 30 second scene with the fantastic actress Zazie Beetz, and the actors that play the parents, the acting was hideous. Monique says her mom went from having a life full of possibility, to a life full of illegal drugs. I couldn't get up out of bed. And who is the hero of the story who thinks he can solve this missing persons case all by himself? michael lombard actor obituary; justinas duknauskas biography; organic valley grassmilk yogurt discontinued One of the movies disturbing scenes is when taxi driver Yann Abellard (played by Baboucarr Camara) is brought in for brutal questioning by the NYPD. Still Here begins with distraught father Michael Watson (played by Maurice McRae) putting up missing-person flyers about his 10-year-old daughter Monique (played by Zariah Singletary) in the New York City neighborhood where they live. And he was glad to hear it. But she was silently having money problems. Who agreed to take her in up until she turned 18. Ben: Moniques more positive outlook in recent months is definitely because of her friends. His case was originally treated as a kidnapping, but investigators found that, quote, the mother had omitted important information about her relationship with the defendant.. This is a hard film to watch. Amory: We're coming to you from WBUR, Boston's NPR station. Great film. And it is scary. "Not a penny. She refused to comment on how her grandson was taking the news. captainformDomReady(function() { And that's why they were in that room and we weren't allowed to talk to them. 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