Genre: Film
Grade: B+
Notable People: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Andre Holland, Bill Comp, Alexander Skarsgard, Directed by: Rebecca Hall
Title: a 2021 black and white esoteric firm written, produced, and directed by Hall in her directorial debut. The film is based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 controversial novel, that explores African-Americans who had skin color light enough to be perceived as white who decided to “pass” in a white world in the north. In 1920s New York City, Irene Redfield (Thompson), a light-skinned Black woman living in Harlem, meets a childhood friend, Clare Bellew (Negga), by chance at a hotel dining room. While Irene is married to a Black doctor, the also light-skinned Clare “passes” as white and has married a wealthy white, and extremely racist, man from Chicago. It is a very slow potent film that seems constantly on the verge of disaster. Harlem of the 20s is beautifully recreated and the idea of passing for someone or something you are not radiates in many ways in the film. This is not for everybody, but a powerful film to watch) once you acclimate to the pace) that will leave likely leave you in thought or discussion for some time.