When you are being raised in America, one of the first things they try to get into your head is the conceit of the American Dream. The idea that through hard work and perseverance alone, anyone from any background can find the success that they desire. But as you get older, the reality starts to sink in. People in power will do anything to keep said power, and part of that plan includes making sure no one else gets their grubby hands on it, at least, not without their approval. Careers are largely made by networking with people who are already in your circle, and if you aren’t in that circle, you can forget about breaking in.
The idea of the lifelong career that can bring you a home, support a family, save for retirement is gone. Many people, especially those now entering the workforce are struggling to make ends meet even from doing everything that previous generations told them to do. It’s just not the same anymore, and for some communities, it never really was that way to begin with. As George Carlin once said in his 2005 comedy special Life Is Worth Losing, “That’s why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
The first thing we see in Your Lucky Day is some text reading “Based On The American Dream,” before cutting to Sterling (Angus Cloud), a Miami drug dealer who just got screwed out of a purchase, leaving him with absolutely nothing. It’s merely days until Christmas when he ends up a local convenience store where he overhears an aggressive and somewhat racist businessman (played by Spencer Garrett) winning the lottery – a whopping $156 million. With barely a moment to think things through, Sterling decides that he will take that ticket, so he creates a makeshift mask and performs a hold up inside the store.
Along with the lottery winner, there’s the store owner Amir (Mousa Hussein Kraish) and an expecting young couple, Ana (Jessica Garza) and Abraham (Elliot Knight). Oh, and also a cop, Cody (Sterling Beaumon), who was in the bathroom this whole time, and tries to swoop in to save the day, only for gun fire to ensue, resulting in Cody seemingly getting a fatal wound, and the winner of the ticket getting mistakenly killed by Cody. It’s a messy situation that gets worse when Sterling is forced to improvise on an already haphazard plan when he decides to hold everyone hostage until he can figure out what to do.
The eventual plan? Help dispose of the bodies, come up with a story that leaves everyone clean, and everyone will get a piece of the lottery wins. Amir, Ana, and Abraham are not easily convinced. However, slowly but surely, when dwelling on the pressures they face, and how much the money will help their lives for the better, after all the bad experiences they have each gone through, they reluctantly agree to help Sterling with his plan. But further complications are added when it turns out Cody is still alive, and calls for help, and it’s not the kind of help that is interested in chatting and hearing the story from the hostages’ point-of-view.
Written and directed by Dan Brown, the film is for the most part a one-location thriller, largely taking place inside the convenience store with the exception of a small handful of scenes in the back half. While I haven’t seen the short, I can imagine which beats were added for the sake of extending the concept to feature length. For the most part, it works. Though, I do think the sense of escalation can lean slightly ridiculous at times, and by the time the film is over, I couldn’t help but wonder how certain things resolved themselves. I wasn’t as convinced by the literal series of events that went into the ending, even it rings true thematically.
What helps the film greatly is the way it handles tension, and sustaining that tension for pretty much its entire running time. It’s the kind of film where things can go in any direction. And the performances are what grounds everything, keeping you invested. Obviously, with Cloud no longer being with us, there is an extra layer of sadness to his character’s story, the idea of pushing yourself, testing the limits in order to get rich, the possibilities of what could have been. The role itself is by no means a big stretch for him based on what he’s done before, but it shows that he can absolutely carry a film when given the opportunity. While the rest of the cast deliver strong performances, Garza turns out to be the big scene stealer, initially appearing like a minor character before growing into something totally different as the film goes along. She’s constantly challenged by what she is willing to do for the safety and security of Abraham and her child, and it’s enthralling to watch her reckon with her actions and survival instincts.
Your Lucky Day is in theory like a classic morality tale, but Dan Brown places those moral quandaries in the context of a thriller that is genuinely gripping, and leaves you guessing as to where things will head as more and more complications arise. While certain plot elements aren’t as graceful and tight as they could have been, the cast and the filmmaking in general are strong, and keep you engaged in the ride all the way to the end. It’s the kind of film that encourages you to question what you would do if you were in the position of any of these characters, and its themes on income inequality and class can come across as superficial at times, it is still impactful nonetheless. It’s a solid directorial debut, and it’s further proof that Angus Cloud had something special as an on-screen presence that will be surely missed.
Your Lucky Day is now out in select theaters, and will be available on VOD platforms November 14th.