By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Rebecca Hall
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård | Andre Holland | Antoinette Crowe-Legacy | Bill Camp | Gbenga Akinnagbe | Ruth Negga | Tessa Thompson
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 98
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8893974/reference
Michael says: “This assured directorial debut from actor Rebecca Hall reveals a practice that many people will be unaware. Set in 1920’s Harlem, a chance reunion of two high school friends poses moral and ethical challenges to a black woman who finds herself becoming entangled in the life of her friend who is living her life passing as white. I loved the performances in this film, particularly from Tessa Thompson who plays Irene. Thompson first caught my attention as the kick-ass Valkyrie from Marvel’s Thor series, then surprised me with her deft performance as a poverty-stricken drug dealer in LITTLE WOODS. Thompson wraps herself in manners and poise, as a doctor’s wife who is living a life of means while nursing a fiery, intellectual passion for the civil rights of her black brothers and sisters. Her fascination with her high school friend Claire is missed with revulsion at the way she endures the casual bigotry of her husband. From the opening moments of the film, where Irene herself, whether unknowingly, but more likely shamefully out of necessity, is shown passing as a white woman while doing some Christmas shopping, every movement, every glance, every tensing of her face is Thompson’s way of telling Irene’s story. It’s a masterful and restrained performance even as things start to unravel around her. Ruth Negga, ironically also first came to my attention through a Marvel production, this time television’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ before showing her dramatic stuff in LOVING, plays the more flamboyant Claire with glorious abandon. She two hides a conflicting longing deep within, while living her life to the fullest, taking every advantage with seemingly little concern for her safety. She weaves a captivating spell on this around her, but conceals a quiet torment that sees her secretly envious of her friend Irene.
“In addition to the beautiful character exploration of these two women, Hall captures a moment in time during the Harlem Renaissance, when artistry and intellectualism flourished in the black neighborhood on New York City. Where dances, and dinner parties flourished in the neighborhood, and questions of racial discrimination seemed distant, although limited in its geography. Costumes, settings, and the gorgeous black & white cinematography all support Hall’s fine directorial debut, where her strength is clearly from her background as an actor, and revealing the strongest performances from those acting around her. 4.5 cats”
Chris says: “Just as it threatens to seem too hermetic or contained, PASSING reveals itself to be more observational and inquisitive as if privy to an ongoing private conversation between the characters and the camera lens. Ruth Negga is phenomenal but Tessa Thompson also excels at the trickier part: she’s an audience surrogate but over time, her perception expands beyond that of (ahem) black-and-white. Also, I completely forgot Rebecca Hall adapted and directed this until the closing credits; this is nearly as impressive a behind-the-camera debut as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s. 4 cats“