''Cover'' is a drama

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

produced and directed by

Bill Duke William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor, director, and producer. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. As a ...

and starring

Aunjanue Ellis Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor (; Ellis; born February 21, 1969) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe ...

, Razaaq Adoti,

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983) and played roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' (1988) and ''Generations (American TV s ...

, and

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

. It opened at selective theaters on February 22, 2008.

Plot

A woman accused could be either a killer or a victim in this psychological drama from director Bill Duke. Valerie Mass is a God-fearing housewife and artist who one day finds herself in a situation she never imaged possible—being questioned on murder charges by no-nonsense police detective Hicks and Simmons, a district attorney eager to close this case. As Valerie repeatedly insists she's not a murderer, she tells the story of the last several months of her life. Valerie's husband, Dutch, is a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

with a practice in Atlanta who was offered a high-paying job by his old friend Monica, who works at a hospital in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Dutch takes the job and Valerie dutifully follows, and she seeks solace in the women's support group at local church. Dutch spends more and more time with drug-abusing Monica, her wealthy but uninterested husband, Kevin, and obsessively womanizing musician Ryan Chambers. As Valerie's marriage begins to fall apart, she suspects her husband is being unfaithful, but she's shocked to discover the truth is more complicated than she imagined.

Cast

as Valerie Mass * Razaaq Adoti as Dutch Mass *

as Zahara Milton *

Leon Robinson Leon Preston Robinson (born March 8, 1962), usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer who began his professional career as a film actor in the early 1980s. He is best known for his roles as J.T. Matthews in the 1991 Rob ...

as Ryan Chambers *

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...

as Detective Hicks *

Paula Jai Parker Paula Jai Parker (born August 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting roles in the films ''Friday'' (1995), '' Sprung'' (1997), '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998), ''Phone Booth'' (2002), ''Hustle & Flow'' (2005), ...

as Monica Wilson *

Roger Guenveur Smith Roger Guenveur Smith (; born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his collaborations with Spike Lee. Early life Roger Guenveur Smith was born on July 27, 1955, in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guen ...

as Kevin Wilson *

Richard Gant Richard Gant (born March 10, 1944) is an American actor. His credits include the film ''Rocky V'' (1990), where he played the Don King-esque George Washington Duke; Hostetler in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006); and Owen in ''Men of a Certain Age'' ( ...

as Robert Mass *

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...

as Cynda *

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

as Attorney Miller * Victoria Gabrielle Platt as Charlotte *

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He has numerous Broadway credits, including ''Hello, Dolly! (mus ...

as D.A. Simmons *

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

as Mrs. Persons *Clayton Prince as Greg *Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery as Nicole Mass *Kenya Cagle as Detective Partner

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film holds 30 out of a 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' criticized the director Bill Duke for "aims ngfor social awareness, but deliver ngsecond-rate melodrama instead".

References

External links

* {{Bill Duke 2007 thriller films 2007 LGBTQ-related films 2007 films African-American films African-American LGBTQ-related films American thriller films American LGBTQ-related films Bisexuality-related films Films directed by Bill Duke 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language thriller films