Rebecca Hall creates a wonderful snapshot of 1920s New York, and also cleverly tackles questions of gender, motherhood, and more
At first glance, Rebecca Hall’s delicately put together directorial debut, passing, as though it is only about caste, second and third glances reveal it to deftly tackle questions of gender, motherhood, identity, class, sexuality and husband-wife jealousy.
Based on the 1929 book by Nela Larsen, passingThe film tells the story of two women, Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Claire (Ruth Negga), who knew each other at school, but lost touch as they grew up. When Irene visits Claire at an expensive New York hotel, a Pandora’s box is unpacked. In the reluctant and thorny relationship between the two women, a bunch of issues emerge to investigate. Although both Irene and Claire are light-skinned African-Americans, Irene identifies as African-American, marries black doctor Brian (Andre Holland) and lives in Harlem, while Claire is a white man, John (Andre Holland). Alexander ‘passes’ as white after marrying Skarsgard)
Although Irene may be considered moral and honest and Claire may be considered shallow, things are not so simple. Irene is jealous of Claire’s vivacity and what she perceives as her children’s attraction to Brian and Claire. While for equality between all races, Irene has an African-American maidservant, Zooey (Ashley Ware Jenkins), whom she treats with equal measures of condescension and impatience.
passing
- Director: Rebecca Hall
- Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Andre Holland, Bill Camp, Gabenga Eckingabe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Alexander Skarsgard
- Story: In 1920s New York, a chance meeting with a childhood friend turns a woman’s life upside down
- Run Time: 99 Minutes
Both women look at motherhood from completely opposite angles. For Irene, her sons are her joy and pride, while Claire loves her daughter with distraction, unwilling to repeat the stress of nine months of imprisonment on her child’s skin tone. For Claire “Being a mother is the cruelest thing in the world.” Irene, being a devoted mother, argues with Brian about how much boys should know about racial harassment in the United States.
When Claire recounts aspects of her heritage, she attends dances organized by Irene. These lively dances, along with the smooth jazz notes of horn and piano, attract even whites like best-selling author Hugh Wentworth (Bill Camp) looking for a wave of exoticism, danger or difference, or fodder for their fantasies. .
Hall, who also wrote the screenplay, has created a wonderful snapshot of 1920s New York that is of its time and of all time. Black and white shading contributes to the fluidity of time and space. acted wonderfully (Skarsgard is making a habit of playing abusive husbands) and produced, passing Gossip is the remedy for difficult, enduring, ever-present questions. As Irene rightly says, “We all pass for something.”
The Passing is currently streaming on Netflix
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