Native Son (2019)

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Movie
Original title Native Son
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2019
length 110 minutes
Rod
Director Rashid Johnson
script Suzan-Lori Parks
production Matthew Perniciaro ,
Michael Sherman
music Kyle Dixon ,
Michael Stein
camera Matthew Libatique
cut Brad Turner
occupation

Native Son is a film drama directed by Rashid Johnson that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 .

action

Bigger Thomas, or Big for short, is a young African American. He works part-time as a bike messenger in Chicago and has enough time every day to visit his girlfriend Bess at her hair salon and hang out at the local pool hall. Big wears flood trousers and white socks, black nail polish and a series of death rings and a leather jacket with the words “Or am I freaking out” painted on his back like graffiti. He has his own idea of ​​anarchy. Big doesn't listen to Nas or Kanye West, but prefers punk music and classical compositions, such as by Beethoven.

His single mother Trudy cannot give her three children a prosperous life. But one evening his mother's friend, who works as a lawyer, has a job idea for her elder. His client Henry Dalton's wealthy white family is looking for a new driver, a position that includes room, board, and $ 1,000 a week. Big is skeptical, but takes the job. Mrs. Dalton is blind. The Daltons also have a daughter who is extremely headstrong and about his age. He often has to drive Mary through town, sometimes to see supposed friends from college, actually they end up at parties where she hangs out with her boyfriend Jan.

One night, Mary, Jan, Big and Besse attend a party where things get out of hand.

production

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Wright . This was the first bestseller by an African American author. In 1941, a stage version of Native Son directed by Orson Welles was performed on Broadway . In addition, the novel was made into a film by Pierre Chenal in 1951 . Wright played the main character Bigger Thomas in the film itself.

Directed by Rashid Johnson . Wright's book was adapted for the film by Suzan-Lori Parks .

In March 2018, the cast with Ashton Sanders , Nick Robinson , Margaret Qualley , Bill Camp and KiKi Layne was announced. Sanders plays Bigger "Big" Thomas. KiKi Layne plays Big's friend Bessie. Camp took on the role of Big's new employer Henry Dalton, Qualley plays his daughter Mary. Robinson can be seen in the role of Mary's friend Jan. The role of Big's mother Trudy Thomas was cast with Sanaa Lathan . David Alan Grier plays their friend who gets Big a job at Henry Dalton.

Filming began in Cleveland in April 2018 and ended in early May 2018.

The score was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. The soundtrack, which includes a total of 12 pieces of music, was released on April 5, 2019 by Milan Records.

The film premiered on January 24, 2019 as part of the Sundance Film Festival . At the beginning, the indie studio A24 sold the rights to the film to HBO.

reception

Reviews

The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood explains that Rashid Johnson , who has made a name for himself as an artist, and Suzan-Lori Parks , who became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for their drama , kept large chunks of their adaptation of Richard Wright's novel the structure, but changed some of the story, especially in the third act. In doing so, they obviously wanted to maintain the still current social prejudice against African Americans, continued Ellwood. The film critic recalls that even nearly 80 years after Native Son was released, innocent blacks have been found guilty of a crime.

Ben Pearson of SlashFilm notes that the film is interested in the dynamics between race and class. Johnson immersed the film in a strange mood from the moment Big took the job and portrayed the mansion of the white family almost like a haunted house. After an unexpected event, the film finally turned into horror, while at the same time the social commentary of the story will be set.

Awards

NAACP Image Awards 2020

  • Nomination for Best Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
  • Nomination for Best Screenplay - TV Movie ( Suzan-Lori Parks )
  • Nomination for Best Director - TV Movie ( Rashid Johnson )

Sundance Film Festival 2019

  • Nomination for the Grand Jury Prize in the US Dramatic Competition (Rashid Johnson)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/native-son-review-sundance-film-festival-1203117692/
  2. ↑ https://ew.com/movie-reviews/2019/01/25/native-son-is-a-raw-lyrical-richard-wright-retelling-sundance-review/
  3. ↑ https://filmmusicreporter.com/2018/12/05/kyle-dixon-michael-stein-to-score-native-son/
  4. ↑ 'Native Son' Score Album Announced. In: filmmusicreporter.com, March 27, 2019.
  5. ↑ Clarisse Loughrey: Sundance Film Festival line up: Highlights from Ted Bundy to documentaries about Harvey Weinstein and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In: independent.co.uk, November 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ https://variety.com/2019/film/news/sundance-a24-native-son-1203117387/
  7. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/25/native-son-review-ashton-sanders-adaptation
  8. ↑ https://theplaylist.net/native-son-still-relevant-sundance-review-20190125/
  9. ↑ https://www.slashfilm.com/native-son-review/
  10. ↑ Erik Anderson: 2020 NAACP Awards: Billy Porter, Lizzo, Regina King, Angela Bassett up for Entertainer of the Year. In: awardswatch.com, January 9, 2020.
  11. ↑ Sundance Film Festival 2019 - US Dramatic Competition. In: sundance.org. Retrieved December 15, 2018.