Malcolm X., Spike Lee’s highly anticipated movie, exhibits the best qualities of a David Lean epic: a complex, charismatic personality placed at the center of an ever-changing political contexts during pivotal historical times.
No matter what you may think, Malcolm X represents a major addition to Lee’s growing body of work, as well as the historical biopicture, a genre that includes Richard Attenborough’s 1982 Oscar winner Gandhi.
Grade: B+ (**** out of *****)
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International theatrical release poster
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Lee has chosen a controversial political figure (to this day), within the whote and Black communities, while shedding light not only on the man as “a real living” individua, but also on the myths that Malcolm X (and others of his league) have created over the years.
Lee’s three hour plus picture may seem conventional nd sluggish in moments, but as a piece of filmmaking it is superior to the nobility of spirit and high-mindedness that defined Attenborough’s Gandhi.
Malcolm X chronicles the public and the private life of Malcolm X as they intersect, and often clash, deconstructing his persona while trying to keep his spirit alive by mythologizing him as an inspirational African-American hero for our (and all) times.
I didn’t particularly like the “contemporary” beginning and ending of Malcolm X, in which Lee tries too hard to show the relevancy and influence of Malcolm X on the current political scene.
Like the 1970 Oscar-winning Patton, Malcolm X begins with the image of a huge American flag–except that the flag is burning. This is intercut with the now-familiar video footage of the Rodney King beatings and Malcolm’s provocative statements against the “murderous” white man.
Then, at the end of the film, a group of Black kids stand up in their classroom and proudly exclaim: “I’m Malcolm,” “I’m Malcolm.”
Still, with the exception of its overture and epilogue, Malcolm X is a solid picture, one that is always interesting, often provocative, and sometimes even laced with sly humor.
A major statement on race relations in America, Malcolm X is Lee’s most ambitious and most accomplished film to date.
Lee’s most felicitous decision was to cast Denzel Washington in the title role, who inhabits the role so compellingly that i’s hard to imagine annother Black actor essaying the demanding part; he is present in almost every scene of this 200-minte epic.
Some of Malcolm’s ideas were offensive and deplorable, such as his explicit contempt for all white Americans, his militant separatism, his treatment of his white girlfriends. However, in Washington’s multi-shaded and subtle performance, Malcolm’s intellectual capacity, sharp mind, brilliant language, and humanity always come to life.
More importantly, Washington’s natural charm and skillful versatility as an actor facilitate the radical twists and various chapters in Malcolm’s short life, and soften the sting of his assertions. With some luck, Washington will not only be nominated, but also win the Best Actor Oscar this year.
Lee successfully dramatizes the various phases in Malcolm’s life-long transformation and the social contexts under which this transformation took place. Malcolm, the most famous of the Black Muslims, was nothing if not changeable.
Born in Omaha in 1925, he began as a street hustler and burglar until arrested and convicted. In prison, Malcolm is introduced to Islam and the ideology of Elijah Muhammad, whose emphasis on black pride and black nationalism provide Malcolm the motivation to change his name and dedicate his life to a single cause: “telling the white devil the truth to his face.”
One of the picture’s most interesting sequences describes Malcolm’s rise to power as a leader of the Nation of Islam.
In his effort to glorify Malcolm X, Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with the late Arnold Perl, consciously glosses over the controversiality of the leader’s views and actions within the Black Muslim community.
He also mutes the issue of Malcolm’s assassination at a Harlem ballroom (he died in 1965, at the age of 39), which might frustrate some viewers. One can only imagine how a director like Oliver Stone would have treated the suspicion that Malcolm’s murder was executed–or encouraged–by the FBI. Lee seems uninterested in resolving this mystery or engaging in another conspiracy theory.
Malcolm X contains only one weak sequence that might be a result of Lee’s indulgence as a director, or perhaos his reverence for his hero. Malcolm’s trips to Africa and Mecca lack dramatic power and, focusing on the spectacular visuals of these sights, they bring the narrative to a halt. But these are minor shortcomings compared to the magnitude of the subject matter and the immensity of the historical era, which spans four decades, from 1925 to 1964.
The film’s production values, particularly the cinematography of Ernest Dickerson, Lee’s longtime collaborator, are first-rate. Among other things, Dickerson’s camera vividly captures the energy and exuberance of the jitterbug dancing and cabaret milieu of Boston and Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s.
While Washington is admittedly brilliant, he is also surrounded with an excellent ensemble of performers, including Spike Lee as Shorty, Angela Bassett as Malcolm’s wife, Lonette McKee as his forceful mother, and Al Freeman as the fateful Elijah Muhammad.
Lee is a director who doesn’t need publicity–he is an expert at talking to (and occasionally) manipulating the press. Scandals of all kinds have marked Malcolm X from its pre-production to release. But unlike some of his previous endeavors, the quality of this movie at least matches the hype that has surrounded it for over a year.
Malcolm X doesn’t offer a radically revisionist history, but it does provide a new perspective, a distinctly Black point of view of recent American history. As such, it should also be shown in history courses at high schools, colleges and universities.
Credits:
Directed by Spike Lee
Produced by Marvin Worth and Spike Lee
Screenplay by Arnold Perl and Spike Lee, based on Alex Haley’s “The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X”
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography Ernest Dickerson
Edited by Barry Alexander Brown
Production company: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Distributed by Warner Bros; Largo International (international)
Release date: November 18, 1992
Running time: 201 minutes
Budget $35 million
Box office $55.9 million (estimated)
Cast
Denzel Washington as Malcolm X (previously Malcolm Little).
The film’s protagonist is a former petty criminal and convict who undergoes spiritual transformation while incarcerated, joining the Nation of Islam and rising through its ranks as minister and activist.
Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz. A nurse and NOI activist who later marries Malcolm. The real Betty Shabazz served as an advisor to the production; she died in 1997 at age 63.
Albert Hall as Baines, the convict who mentors Malcolm and converts him to Islam.
Al Freeman, Jr. as Elijah Muhammad. The charismatic leader of the Nation of Islam.
Delroy Lindo as West Indian Archie, a Harlem gangster who runs local numbers game and takes young Malcolm under his wing.
Spike Lee as Shorty, Malcolm’s close friend from childhood who follows him into crime, the two drift apart after serving time in jail, but later reunite through Malcolm’s activism.
Theresa Randle as Laura, a young woman with whom Malcolm had strained romantic relationship and later passes over in favor of Sophia; Sshe later works as a prostitute.
Kate Vernon as Sophia, young white woman whom Malcolm meets at a Boston nightclub and becomes his lover and partner-in-crime. She is caught for their crimes, and sentenced to two years in prison, later marrying a white man and becoming a housewife.
