Two Distant Strangers (2021)
Directors: Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe
Screenwriter: Travon Free
Starring: Joey Bada$$, Andrew Howard, Zaria
“Say their names. Remember their names.” Those lines close the Oscar-nominated live action short Two Distant Strangers, a stark and unflinching short film that confronts the repeated, racially motivated killings of Black Americans by law enforcement. The film uses a repeating-day structure to make palpable the relentless, everyday fear that many Black people face—how a routine action can end in deadly violence.
The premise is simple and devastating: Carter James (Joey Bada$$) wakes up each day only to be killed by a white police officer, repeatedly. No matter his choices, the pattern repeats, turning the film into a powerful allegory about the systemic nature of police violence. By looping through the same tragic outcome, the film refuses the comforting idea that individual behavior alone can prevent these killings.
Presented in a cyclical format similar in concept to the television series Russian Doll or the classic film Groundhog Day, this short deploys repetition to emphasize how ordinary life for Black people can exist alongside an ever-present threat. Small, everyday moments—lighting a cigarette, an awkward goodbye, a spilled coffee—become the pivot around which catastrophe arrives. The mundane details amplify the horror because they underline how suddenly and arbitrarily life is cut short.
Two Distant Strangers deliberately echoes high-profile cases and widely circulated footage that fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. Scenes evoke the aftermath of widely seen videos and the circumstances surrounding recent, widely discussed killings. That choice can feel on-the-nose, and some viewers may find it close to exploitation. Yet the film’s aim is not sensationalism for its own sake; it seeks to force viewers to sit with the repetitive tragedy and to consider how quickly public attention shifts away from each individual life.
The film balances bleak subject matter with moments of character-driven warmth and humor. Carter is sketched as a young artist with charm and small vulnerabilities: a lingering one-night stand, attempts at a graceful exit, playful interactions with a dog. These humanizing details make each fatal repetition land harder. In several sequences the killings are presented in rapid succession, almost clinical in pace, reflecting how real-world tragedies can become short-lived news trends before social attention moves on.
Joey Bada$$ delivers a grounded, sympathetic performance. His portrayal brings nuance and a lived-in authenticity to Carter—he’s likable, believable, and immediately relatable. Opposite him, Andrew Howard makes the police officer into a chilling figure. Dressed sharply, almost antiseptic in appearance, Howard’s officer is defensive, aggressively domineering and difficult to humanize. Even when the film hints at complexity, the officer’s actions undo any attempt at sympathy. The pair create a compelling dynamic that elevates the script’s moral urgency.
Visually the short is accomplished. Several well-composed shots, including drone views of New York streets, evoke the city’s cinematic history while grounding the story in familiar urban reality. The film’s production values underscore its message: this is not an abstract thought experiment but a vividly realized portrait of repeated, senseless loss.
At times the film’s tone can feel conflicted—its moments of dark humor and character detail sit uneasily alongside direct re-enactments of real-life violence. That tension, however, is part of the point: the discomfort mirrors the dissonance between ordinary life and the abrupt intrusion of deadly force. Two Distant Strangers is an intentionally uncomfortable watch because it insists we confront how normalized and recurring these tragedies have become.
Ultimately, the short stands as both a work of craft and a statement piece. It is timely and urgent, marrying strong performances and polished filmmaking to a message about systemic brutality and the erosion of safety for many Black Americans. For viewers seeking a short, powerful film that refuses to look away, Two Distant Strangers delivers a searing, necessary experience.
19/24
This short film is available worldwide on Netflix.