This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Drama, G, Movie Reviews, NEW ON VIDEO, True Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Denzel Washington
Starring: Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Forest Whitaker
Every decade or so, a film is released that brings America’s troubled past, in regard to the civil rights of all people, back into focus. We can go a long time without thinking about how whole groups of citizens have been oppressed or decimated simply because they were different and without remembering the hardship endured by entire races and civilizations that others attempted to (or succeeded) in wipe out. If you have been part of the group being oppressed or decimated, this fact is probably never far from your mind. Over time a list of movies that spill with inspiration, remorse, shame and joy, has formed. This list of stories that just had to be told, contains such unforgettable works as Shindler’s List, Mississippi Burning and, now, The Great Debaters.
Denzel Washington stars in the true story of college professor Nelson B. Tolson and is set at Wiley College in Texas, in 1935. Now I have never heard the story before so I am accepting their assertion that Wiley College had a storied debate team in 1935. Tolson’s debate team consists of 4 very talented but very different students. The first is a conflicted student named Henry Lowe who grew up in a shack down the road and has a hard time deciding what he really wants from life. The second debater is James Farmer Jr. played by Denzel Whitaker, child prodigy and son of another of Wiley’s professors, Dr. James Farmer, played by Forest Whitaker (no relation). Samantha Booke (with an “E”), played by Jurnee Smollett) is an ambitious young woman who traveled from her home town just to be the first female on the Wiley College Debate team. Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams) is a charismatic joker that rounds out the team. Under Tolson’s tutelage, this motley crew takes on all comers including a few “white” colleges and along the way sees some events that cannot be unseen and learns some important life lessons that cannot be unlearned.
There are a lot of stories that are meant to be inspirational and few that actually are. There are a lot of movies that are meant to be educational and few that actually are. This movie is inspirational and educational, and it does it with passion and intelligence. The performances are amazing as is to be expected with Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker on the same team. Young Denzel Whitaker (not related to either of them – I know. I’m as confused as you) is a standout in his first major role, we will likely see a lot more from him. And Denzel Washington does a great job behind the camera too, although there is one slow motion sequence that seems really out of place (trust me you will know it when you see it). He does a great job of stirring up real emotion and empathy for the characters (no Maniac not like how you felt at the end of “Bring it On 2″) If Freedom Writers, Men of Honor and the Tuskeegee Airmen were to produce an extremely exceptional offspring, The Great Debaters would be it. Go see it, it will make you a better person.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:20 am
The Great Debaters is a very underrated film about the difficulties of being black in the pre civil rights era south and about having the courage and strength to still stand up and be heard. Cool and poetic dialog, well-developed characters and outstanding performances make it worth watching – MMM