Malcolm X
I TOOK NOTES. HERE THEY ARE.
- To call Malcolm X controversial is a bit of an understatement but this film really makes you feel for Malcolm considering hes a deeply complicated historical figure and some of that is thanks to Denzel’s ALL TIMER performance. This performance is pure charisma and pain and evolution. There were points where i forgot Denzel was even acting. It literally felt like I was peering into some alternate dimension where the real Malcolm X just happened to look like Denzel Washington. That scene where Denzel’s tears fall so effortlessly when Malcolm first meets Elijah Muhammad in person should’ve been enough to win him that Oscar but we literally can’t have shit in this house
- The sequence where Malcolm addresses accusations of ‘black supremacy’ while the film cuts to clips of black victims of police brutality + the Mecca scenes basically dismantles the idea of “reverse racism.”
- I was really surprised and impressed by the message of how rampant misogyny, specifically towards black women, is in these communities and how even Malcolm, who had good intentions at least at some point, was not above it. While these man want to protect women, or at least claim to want to, they deny them their autonomy and treat them as objects they can control freely. I find the films critique of how oppressed people can still engage in the oppression of MORE oppressed people for a desperate power grab to be a really insightful and fascinating one. That sign that said “we must value our most important property: our women” pretty much sums up my point but also really disturbed me.
- I was shitting bricks at the argument scene.
- I just think humanizing such a complicated figure when so many peoples opinions sum up to “he was lowkey too ‘pro violence’ so i will completely write off every word he ever said” is so much more interesting than like a solid 90% of discussion surrounding Malcolm X these days. The film straight up rejects that really common opinion and basically says “this man is nuanced so this film is gonna be nuanced and u can die mad abt it”
- The foreshadowing. The gun cocking. Like I knew how this was gonna end, and the foreshadowing motifs kept reminding me, and it just built up dread so masterfully, which is impressive considering… who doesnt know Malcolm X was assassinated ??