Chris Rock's 'Misty Green' Wastes Rosalind Eleazar's Star Turn

Chris Rock's new film Misty Green sets out to critique Hollywood's treatment of Black women — and, according to NPR's review, it fails at its own stated goal. Instead, the film hands its star, Rosalind Eleazar, a "half-baked role" while Rock himself plays "a moralizing savior we've seen before."

The movie is distributed by A24, the indie label behind a string of high-profile prestige releases. Rock directs and appears in the film; Eleazar, whose profile has risen steadily through television and film work, takes the central role.

What goes wrong?

The review's core criticism is a mismatch between intention and execution. Misty Green wants to indict an industry pattern — how Black women get written, cast and discarded. But the film reportedly repeats the very structure it criticizes: the Black woman at its center is underwritten, while the story's moral weight lands on Rock's familiar savior figure.

That's a specific failure, not a vague one. A critique of thin roles for Black women that delivers a thin role for its Black female lead doesn't just fall short — it undercuts its own argument. NPR's verdict, in short: the film "squanders its potential."

Why Eleazar's casting matters

Rosalind Eleazar is the film's drawing card, and the review frames her part as the clearest evidence of the problem. A performer capable of carrying the material gets a role the critic describes as half-formed. The savior dynamic — a male lead who narrates and resolves a woman's predicament — is the older, well-worn template the film claims to be moving past.

What does this change for audiences?

For viewers tracking A24's slate or Rock's directing career, it's a signal to temper expectations: this is a prestige-adjacent release with a serious subject that, by this account, doesn't deliver on it. For anyone hoping Eleazar would get a fully realized lead role in a major platform release, the wait continues.

The takeaway from NPR's assessment is blunt: good intentions, named subject, missed execution. How Misty Green fares with wider audiences — and whether Eleazar's performance draws a different consensus — will show whether this early verdict holds.