Directed By George C. Wolfe; Screenplay By Julian Breece & Dustin Lance Black; Story By Julian Breece; Starring Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald.
This movie tells the true story of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), an activist who faced racism and homophobia as he helped change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin comes to us from director George C. Wolfe, who previously helmed the 2020 film adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The script is co-written by Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind 2008’s Milk. Not to mention that among the executive producers are Barack & Michelle Obama.
Under Wolfe’s direction, he does mostly solid work here. Some of his more effective touches are on the opening sequence as well as flashbacks presented in black & white. Branford Marsalis’ musical score is very lively. Although the editing by Andrew Mondshein is hit or miss. On the one hand, the pacing moves along nicely in the beginning and has some neatly put together montages. On the other hand, the pacing drags in certain spots of the second half, making the film feel a little longer than it actually is. Thankfully, there's plenty of other aspects of Rustin that work.
As George C. Wolfe is a veteran theatre director, he has immense amount of experience in working with actors. The movie itself is very well acted. Best in show is clearly Colman Domingo. For his first starring role in a movie, he successfully carries the whole thing on the weight of his shoulders as Bayard Rustin. Domingo delivers a charismatic performance while also providing strong line readings throughout. Other highlights of the cast include Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins (even if the hair and makeup work on him looks a little off), Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph, Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King, Jr., Gus Halper as Tom, and Audra McDonald as Ella Baker.
As someone who was previously familiar with the true story of the 1963 March on Washington, I wasn’t familiar with the activist who orchestrated it. Perhaps Rustin could make for a decent double feature with Ava DuVernay’s Selma from 2014. Nonetheless, this movie may not be perfect, but it still tells quite an empowering tale that the world deserves to hear. It’s currently available to stream on Netflix.
Rating: 3.5/5
This movie tells the true story of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), an activist who faced racism and homophobia as he helped change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin comes to us from director George C. Wolfe, who previously helmed the 2020 film adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The script is co-written by Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind 2008’s Milk. Not to mention that among the executive producers are Barack & Michelle Obama.
Under Wolfe’s direction, he does mostly solid work here. Some of his more effective touches are on the opening sequence as well as flashbacks presented in black & white. Branford Marsalis’ musical score is very lively. Although the editing by Andrew Mondshein is hit or miss. On the one hand, the pacing moves along nicely in the beginning and has some neatly put together montages. On the other hand, the pacing drags in certain spots of the second half, making the film feel a little longer than it actually is. Thankfully, there's plenty of other aspects of Rustin that work.
As George C. Wolfe is a veteran theatre director, he has immense amount of experience in working with actors. The movie itself is very well acted. Best in show is clearly Colman Domingo. For his first starring role in a movie, he successfully carries the whole thing on the weight of his shoulders as Bayard Rustin. Domingo delivers a charismatic performance while also providing strong line readings throughout. Other highlights of the cast include Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins (even if the hair and makeup work on him looks a little off), Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph, Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King, Jr., Gus Halper as Tom, and Audra McDonald as Ella Baker.
As someone who was previously familiar with the true story of the 1963 March on Washington, I wasn’t familiar with the activist who orchestrated it. Perhaps Rustin could make for a decent double feature with Ava DuVernay’s Selma from 2014. Nonetheless, this movie may not be perfect, but it still tells quite an empowering tale that the world deserves to hear. It’s currently available to stream on Netflix.
Rating: 3.5/5