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The film is an in-depth look on the life at times of Malcolm X AKA Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington), starting from his days as a street kid, Pullman porter and settling as a hustler working for mob guy West Indian Archie (Delroy Lindo), and calling himself Detroit Red. The accounts of his parents are split up in several parts, in which we come to know that his father was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and his mother was sent to a mental institution. His dealings and wrongdoings eventually land him in prison where he meets Brother Baines (Albert Hall) whom teaches him Islamic religion – in its extreme form. Converted to Muslim by the Black Muslim Church, and assigned as Messianic disciple by the Black Muslim leader, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (Al Freeman Jr.), Malcolm X becomes a fervent but controversial speaker mouthing off rage and rebellion against the white man and promoting black supremacy and separation. Later though, Malcolm realizes that fellow ministers are growing jealous of him because he gets too much press and that all this time he has been used as a propaganda tool by nothing more than shifty eyed, racist hustlers that live off the blind faith of the people that follow them. Malcolm is kicked out because of this and makes a pilgrimage to Mecca where he finally learns the real truth about Islam and the lies of Black Muslim racists. Unfortunately, it’s this truth that would mark him for death by his former colleagues.

When I watched this film, it was like no other film I’ve ever watched, probably because it’s about a black man, and is written and directed by a black man. Nothing wrong with that, since I believe points of view vary within each race. It was expected, and I liked it, since it shows how the black world is lived, how they interact with each other, and all the points of view that black people had about white people back then. Lee never overdoes it on both direction and most importantly, the screenplay; all the details of Malcolm’s life throughout the movie are given out eloquently without any heavy-handedness and overstuffing. Malcolm is not presented as a hero, but rather a human being like you and I, with tendencies to go to the extreme, to provoke, to be right as well as wrong. Elements that are reminiscent to the same way Lawrence of Arabia was handled, and that’s the key to it all since we have to understand why he did the things the way he did it, and if possible, relate to him once in a while.

Lee also does a great job in directing since he manages to manipulate your emotions around the violent environment which is racism, but not through your usual redneck trash, he also brings out the other side of the coin, which is black racism, a subject that not many would like to talk about. Watch the brutal opening scenes where an American flag is burned spliced with Rodney King’s unforgettable beating spliced with a fierce and provocative Malcolm “charging the white man for his crimes against the black man.” The first extreme (white racism) is easy to comprehend and accept since obviously it’s the most present in every society (not to mention in every movie), but black supremacy is a subject that has to be known, and Lee does a great job on depicting it. How black extremists are as equally a bunch of redneck assholes as white extremists, and even worse, use religion as a means of hustling people’s money and faith and live on it to make themselves filthy rich. At the end, when both sides are depicted, Malcolm, as well as the viewer must find the middle ground; kudos to Lee for showing that. The production values of this film are carefully crafted with some great photography by Ernest Dickerson.

To be believable, I don’t think Spike Lee would’ve done any better than to choose Denzel Washington for the lead. See, Denzel dazzles me in a way no other actor does (except Daniel Day-Lewis); he’s a guy that would make you think due to his charming smile, that he should a comedian or a comic actor rather than a dramatic lead. But under that smile he hides an incredible talent which unlimited range that no one would ever think of, and is that talent which helps him immerse into several roles you would never think he could pull it off. He’s a perfect example of a chameleonic actor, and he proves it here perfectly giving one of his finest performances to date; it’s his performance that main force which carries the movie throughout its 3 ½ hour running time. There are also some notable standouts in the supporting roles, notably Angela Basset as Malcolm’s wife, Delroy Lindo as West Indian Archie, and Albert Hall as Brother Baines.

In the end, this film is powerful stuff, and is absolutely recommended for people of all colors. It’s a worthwhile epic which is as fierce and riveting as the man himself. 5-5

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originally posted: 02/25/04 16:34:21
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