• Release year: 2023
• Director: George C. Wolfe.
• Producers: Bruce Cohen, Tonia Davis and George C. Wolfe.
• Screenplay by: Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black.
• Cinematographer: Tobias A. Schliessler.
• Music by: Branford Marsalis.

Shotgun Commentary: the best and the worst of humanity in a surprisingly cheery film.

Review

Rustin is an inspiring story that showcases the amount of good, and bad, that humans are capable of. Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo) defied a society that hated him and rejected him. He answered to that loathe by creating the opportunity for real change in the course of Civil Rights.

In with a bang

The feature begins with an impactful sequence of scenes. These display the circumstances under which black people lived before they had any sort of legal equality. It is a strong start, based on real footage featuring violence and disrespect in universities, and on Norman Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With”, which depicts a little girl being “escorted” by armed police forces. The focus is not only set in race-based prejudices, but also in the female experience of those. Giving the protagonism of the prelude to women introduces a secondary issue that is developed alongside the primary problem of racism: sexism.

Men will be kids

Rustin has no qualms making a mixed-gender team to organise the march. However, there are no women in power past that circle. The room where the decisions are made has one woman in it, presumably the secretary. She doesn’t speak and can’t even sit at the actual table like an equal. She is relegated to sitting next to the wall, like a fly, irrelevant to the topics discussed.

Later on, the subject is made even clearer when Dr. Anna Hedgeman (CCH Pounder) speaks up about the lack of women being allowed to speak during the march. Women like Ella Baker, Diane Nash and Rosa Parks, among others, are some of the most important voices of the time and yet, men are going to talk about their work instead of letting them speak for themselves.

The only woman allowed to use the microphone that day was Mahalia Jackson (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), and only to sing. The sexism behind every deed is apparent, and Rustin makes a great job of bringing it to light.

Where’s the line?

Another matter obviously addressed in the film is homophobia. It is curious to see how civil rights and human rights’ fighters get together due to the unfairness of segregation, and yet they are unable to see the problem of homophobia.

Treating individuals as criminals just because they love others from their same sex should be a very clear human rights issue. Still, they all seem to agree that homosexuals should be hidden in the dark like monsters and be ashamed of who they are. Bayard says it best when he asks MLK (Aml Ameen) why he has to justify his existence.

It is strange to see people who know so much about racial injustice and cruelty repeat the same behaviours with others because of their sexual orientation. The ending of the movie is a bittersweet reminder of that.

The racist in the room

The main theme, racism, is also portrayed in a very interesting way. It strays away from the bloody, violent narratives that are so often used in the media. Instead, it exposes the “polite racism” which is a lot more dangerous and keeps being widely used nowadays. The meeting with the National Park Service, that turns out to be with a group of policemen who have nothing to do with the NPS, is the best example of it. A group of white policemen, presumably sent by the president to make sure the meeting is a failure, refuse to talk to Rustin like adults in a weak attempt to stop the march.

This, in addition to comments like asking women to stay at home that day, are small non-violent attitudes that, despite their appearances, are no more harmless than the hosing of children. This environment of abuse and discrimination makes the climax of the film incredibly emotional and beautiful to witness. The combination of real and fictional footage creates a bridge between the film and the actual events that transpired, adding intensity to the moment.

Follow the leader

In the acting department, Domingo shows an intensity that makes it impossible to not be glued to the screen. Rustin is a very charismatic, intelligent person who knows which battles to pick and when to back down. Domingo shares that passion and cunning with the audience, making Bayard likeable and easy to root for from the beginning. He is a strong lead that marches to his own hypnotic tune, making everyone else, cast and audience, automatically follow.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Careful where you draw the lines in your prejudice, they may come back to haunt you.
• The obsessive need to label people with as many tags as you can is ridiculous and only feeds unfair preconceptions.
• Never trust institutions to work against their interests, even if it is for the common good.

What’s your take? Have you watched Rustin yet? What do you think of it? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀

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