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Burning an Illusion
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Burning an Illusion
Burning an Illusion is a 1981 British drama film written and directed by Menelik Shabazz, about a young British-born black woman's love life, mostly shot in London's Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities. It was only the second British feature film to have been made by a black director, following Horace Ové's Pressure (1975), and is described by Stephen Bourne as "the first British film to give a black woman a voice of any kind." Imruh Bakari worked with Shabazz and co-founded Kuumba Productions with him.
The film begins with scenes of a house party, with Pat on voice-over introducing herself, somewhat as if from a diary. She is 22 years old and not sure where she is going in life. Her voice-over narration is used at several other points in the film, but not often.
Her friend, Sonya, gives her and Del a lift home from the party. Sonya's boyfriend, Chamberlain, is in the front passenger seat and they are exuberantly chatty, while Del appears to whisper sweet nothings in Pat's ear in the back seat.
Del manages to obtain the phone number of Pat's parents, and happens to call it while she is there, despite her having had her own flat for three years. He invites her on a date, on which they go to a restaurant and drink wine after the meal, though they both agree they dislike the wine. They take a cab back to her flat. Del claims to be chivalrous because he opened the taxi door for her. They go up to the door of her flat, but Pat will not invite him in, saying: "It's late." Del protests that he has taken her to the "best black restaurant in town" and paid for everything, implying that he expects something in return, but ultimately he leaves slightly disappointed.
A while later, Del knocks on Pat's door. He is carrying a holdall. He has had a row with his father and either been kicked out of the family home or has left voluntarily (it is left unclear, perhaps for the viewer to decide which). He moves in with Pat.
One of Pat's friends is having issues with her boyfriend being dominating. Chatting on a park bench with a third friend, Pat says she should leave him. Meanwhile, at the pool club, Del's friends are saying that in a relationship the man should dominate. Pat asks Del when he's going to "settle down". Del points out that things are fine at the moment, though concedes "maybe in five or six months time".
At Del's work as a machinist there is a new foreman who appears to be racist, singling out Del for scrutiny. Del is often late for work and eventually loses his job. He thinks it is no big deal and that he will easily be able to find another job, but discovers that there are no machinist jobs available.
Pat continues to iron Del's shirts and cook his meals, shopping from her wages, while Del begins to take liberties, treating the place as his own, inviting friends round to gamble at cards and expecting Pat to wait on them. Eventually, she won't put up with it any more. She throws Del's friends out, during which some of them say that he needs to "control [his] woman". Then she tries to throw Del out, saying that the relationship is over. Del is initially unmoved, but then reacts angrily, claiming that it is his flat. Pat points out that it is hers. Then he slaps her quite violently. She grabs a knife from the kitchen drawer. He finally leaves. She does not break down in tears, but is visibly distressed.
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Burning an Illusion
Burning an Illusion is a 1981 British drama film written and directed by Menelik Shabazz, about a young British-born black woman's love life, mostly shot in London's Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove communities. It was only the second British feature film to have been made by a black director, following Horace Ové's Pressure (1975), and is described by Stephen Bourne as "the first British film to give a black woman a voice of any kind." Imruh Bakari worked with Shabazz and co-founded Kuumba Productions with him.
The film begins with scenes of a house party, with Pat on voice-over introducing herself, somewhat as if from a diary. She is 22 years old and not sure where she is going in life. Her voice-over narration is used at several other points in the film, but not often.
Her friend, Sonya, gives her and Del a lift home from the party. Sonya's boyfriend, Chamberlain, is in the front passenger seat and they are exuberantly chatty, while Del appears to whisper sweet nothings in Pat's ear in the back seat.
Del manages to obtain the phone number of Pat's parents, and happens to call it while she is there, despite her having had her own flat for three years. He invites her on a date, on which they go to a restaurant and drink wine after the meal, though they both agree they dislike the wine. They take a cab back to her flat. Del claims to be chivalrous because he opened the taxi door for her. They go up to the door of her flat, but Pat will not invite him in, saying: "It's late." Del protests that he has taken her to the "best black restaurant in town" and paid for everything, implying that he expects something in return, but ultimately he leaves slightly disappointed.
A while later, Del knocks on Pat's door. He is carrying a holdall. He has had a row with his father and either been kicked out of the family home or has left voluntarily (it is left unclear, perhaps for the viewer to decide which). He moves in with Pat.
One of Pat's friends is having issues with her boyfriend being dominating. Chatting on a park bench with a third friend, Pat says she should leave him. Meanwhile, at the pool club, Del's friends are saying that in a relationship the man should dominate. Pat asks Del when he's going to "settle down". Del points out that things are fine at the moment, though concedes "maybe in five or six months time".
At Del's work as a machinist there is a new foreman who appears to be racist, singling out Del for scrutiny. Del is often late for work and eventually loses his job. He thinks it is no big deal and that he will easily be able to find another job, but discovers that there are no machinist jobs available.
Pat continues to iron Del's shirts and cook his meals, shopping from her wages, while Del begins to take liberties, treating the place as his own, inviting friends round to gamble at cards and expecting Pat to wait on them. Eventually, she won't put up with it any more. She throws Del's friends out, during which some of them say that he needs to "control [his] woman". Then she tries to throw Del out, saying that the relationship is over. Del is initially unmoved, but then reacts angrily, claiming that it is his flat. Pat points out that it is hers. Then he slaps her quite violently. She grabs a knife from the kitchen drawer. He finally leaves. She does not break down in tears, but is visibly distressed.