Small Axe: Mangrove [Amazon]

 

A singularly powerful and utterly passionate film that was easily one of the best films of the 2020. If it was submitted for the Oscars, this film would have my vote for the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematographer. Absolutely gut wrenching and infinitesimally hopeful, this was a timely story told by a director who understood the nuances and history of the movement. Steve McQueen's direction was powerful yet intimate, beautiful yet harrowing, lived-in and realistic without being histrionic or preachy. Aided by the gorgeous cinematography of Shabier Kirchner, the music of Mica Levi and the powerful performances of its actors, especially Letitia Wright, Malachi Kirby, Shaun Parkes, Rochenda Sandall, Mangrove - the first of five stories in the Small Axe anthology - was simply put, stunning. 

Comparison with Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago Seven will be inevitable and although Sorkin's courtroom scenes were stronger, undoubtedly given Sorkin's gift of writing dialogue, McQueen's Mangrove Nine was the more powerful drama overall. It provided an inescapable sense of being in the moment and an immersive empathy that highlighted the plight of the oppressed and the disgusting bigotry faced. Institutional racism had never looked so bleak and honest and absolutely revolting. 

Co-written with Alastair Siddons, McQueen had created an unflinching look into a piece of history and the players involved that may not be as well known as the American counterparts. Frank Crichlow, Altheia Jones-LeCointe and Darcus Howe should be names as well as known as that of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Rosa Parks. 

Parkes led this astounding ensemble and his portrayal of Frank Crichlow was captivating. His evolution from restaurant owner to reluctant activist and finally to a leader of the movement was the backbone of the story, and Parkes held it all together. The unjustness he faced and the despair he experienced was as acutely felt by the audience as his victory and relief. Simply riveting.

Equally passionate was Wright. Her undiluted passion poured out of the screen and enveloped the audience. She was the heart of the film as Parkes was the soul. 

Kirchner's cinematography was outstanding. He captured the mood and the atmosphere throughout, may it be the jubilation of a street-side party, the confusion and madness of a protest gone violent, the stark glare of a Court stacked against the defendants, or the loneliness and hopelessness of solitary confinement. Although this paled to his even more immersive cinematography in the next chapter: Lover's Rock.

Mangrove was a must-watch. It was unflinching, powerful, passionate and unapologetic. It reminds us that the past should be a reminder for the present and a blueprint for a better future. Alas, sometimes, especially in 2020, it seemed so distant. But that it is why Small Axe is so relevant.