This is an essential documentary at the right time, introducing the great writer and cultural activist, who had fallen into semi-obscurity, to many new minds. The footage of James Baldwin's public speaking is riveting and as timely as can be. Hopefully it will send many fans of this highly-acclaimed documentary to his brilliantnovels, plays, and essays.
The big problem I had with the movie is the choice of Samuel Jackson as narrator, speaking Baldwin's words in a croaky, raspy voice that was as far from Baldwin's precise diction as can be imagined. Maybe that was the point, but it grated on me every time I heard it.
The big problem I had with the movie is the choice of Samuel Jackson as narrator, speaking Baldwin's words in a croaky, raspy voice that was as far from Baldwin's precise diction as can be imagined. Maybe that was the point, but it grated on me every time I heard it.