Chris Rock's fourth feature as director, "Misty Green," stars Rosalind Eleazar in what critics are calling a career-defining performance as a struggling actress navigating eviction, a family crisis and the moral compromises demanded by the entertainment industry. The film, releasing through A24 on 9 October after premiering at the Toronto and New York film festivals, marks Rock's return to writing and directing 12 years after "Top Five," and is being praised as a more mature, mellow work that blends wry humour with genuine melancholy about the precariousness of Hollywood success.

The story follows Misty, a former TV star given a week to vacate her late benefactor's flat, as she juggles her unstable brother Jay (Daniel Kaluuya), a manipulative former colleague's offer of well-paid but morally dubious work, and a slick on-off partner played by Adam Driver who tempts her towards a lucrative but compromising trip abroad. Anna Kendrick appears as her steadying best friend, while the film examines how race, class and gender compound the industry's already brutal odds, even for a genuinely talented performer.