Somehow, I hadn't heard about Denzel Washington's second directorial effort when it was new. Perhaps I just wasn't paying attention in the right circles yet, or perhaps the combination of old-time Black struggles and, well, college debates didn't lend itself to mainstream discussion, despite praise from Roger Ebert among others. But those defining attributes did pique my interest.
Inspired by true events -- too loosely for a good history lesson -- the story follows Prof. Melvin B. Tolson (Washington) and his Wiley College debate team in 1930s Texas. The team has such a successful track record that Harvard (rather than the University of Southern California as in real life) eventually accepts their challenge. Alas, Tolson's pro-union activities get him in too much trouble to be there for the team in Cambridge, and Harvard insists that the teammates write their own arguments. Difficult, but you can see the ending a mile away.
Tolson comes across as rather harsh to his students. Not abusive like Terence Fletcher in Whiplash, more like the arrogant protagonist of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, with just a touch of the unorthodox John Keating in Dead Poets Society. I won't fault him his politics, seeing as communism struck a chord with a lot of African Americans at the time, but I do worry a little that the filmmakers had an agenda along those lines.
Screen time is pretty well distributed among Tolson and his students. One is fictitious Henry Lowe, a bit of a rebel but also a bit of a leader, which would explain why he both locks horns with Tolson and earns his favor. On the more famous side is James Leonard Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), precocious 14-year-old son of an esteemed doctor (deceptively second-billed Forest Whitaker -- no relation), who tires of being an alternate. Bringing some refreshing estrogen to the equation for the first time in Wiley history is Samantha Booke, who wins the eyes of James and, with more success, Henry. Finally, there's Hamilton Burgess, who has the most doubts about whether Tolson makes safe company.
It wouldn't be a Harpo Production without a focus on racism. In this case, it's more pronounced in intimidation than in unfair regulatory treatment of the major characters. Things don't get quite as ugly as I feared. There is one horrifically displayed lynch victim, but at least we didn't see him alive first. And we get to encounter more decently behaved white folks than in Selma.
My main source of disappointment is actually the debates themselves. They don't take up as much time as I'd hoped. Too often the winners appeal to emotion over all. Then again, I never listened to a college debate and should not be surprised if they rarely sound great. Besides, how much intellect could I expect from Hollywood?
I've decided to err on the positive side and give TGD pretty high marks. Even at its weakest, it's more engaging than annoying.
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