Boycott

This film, following other classics of histo-drama such as Malcolm X or Cry Freedom, is not a biography of Martin Luther King. Instead, it shows in detail the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the beginnings of Dr. King's philosophy and motivation.

It is somewhat dis-orienting at first, as it is shot both in a documentary style, with references to the camera and a raw, un-cut feel, and in a more traditional style. However, as the movie progresses, you find both styles equally powerful in their methods.'

I found this film particularly moving because I was not alive during the events depicted, and the personification or the real-ization of the characters, people I grew up near worshiping, brought home just how different today's world is from 1950's Alabama.

I really liked this movie. It narrates the story of the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.

With regard to the casting choices, the story and the performances, it is stellar indeed, and deserving of a much higher rating. This movie's Achilles heel is the hubris of its director, Clark Johnson. Overdone, movie treatments, and stylized effects used to 'enhance' the story only served to take away from, an already engaging film of resistance, resourcefulness and focus on the successes of a galvanized Civil Rights movement. I watch it for brilliant performances of Jeffrey Wright and Carmen Ejogo, who went on to play Coretta King in Selma, with David Ouelowo (even more brilliant as MLK). I watch it for the choice to add Bayard Rustin, in the narrative.

This movie was wonderfully acted by all, even the small parts were done brilliantly, some of that was due to the director, and editor. The writing is beautiful and human and rich with meaning. All of this serves to make the mis-steps more jarring.

So, while this movie remains watchable and even enjoyable, it does so despite its director than because of him. PS stop the movie before Dr. King rides the bus to the future and greets young people to 'rap' with. That part was truly cringeworthy. (shudder)

HBO has always had a knack for supporting and greenlighting independent dramas that other cable networks and The Big Four wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, usually garnering multiple awards in the process and gaining the ire and envy of the other companies.

Well, be prepared for a lot more teeth-gnashing from the other side. In the tradition of such outstanding productions as MISS EVERS' BOYS, IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, WITNESS PROTECTION and INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, comes BOYCOTT (a.k.a. DAYBREAK OF FREEDOM.)

Clark Johnson, best known for his role as Det. Meldrick Lewis on the long-running NBC series HOMICIDE, directs a remarkably fresh and urgent vision of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of the late 1950's, as led by a young pastor, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Using hand-held cameras and verite techniques, the whole event takes on an in-your-face, "You-Are-There" feel as we become privy to the back story, the major players in the drama, both black and white, and the volatile emotions that were always roiling just below the surface, ready to explode without warning.

With docudramas such as this, there is always the danger of transforming such larger-than-life characters into cardboard-cutout saints; perfect characterizations that capture the public images of people we are all too familiar with, revealing none of the frailties, failings and fears that made them human.

Director Johnson has managed to avoid that problem by gathering a cast of up-and-comers and acting vets, who ensure that the portrayals will be top-notch, if not remarkable beyond belief or reproach.

Jeffrey Wright, who has shown so much range between his work in BASQUIAT and the SHAFT remake, brings a multi-layered performance to bear in the role of Dr. King. A decent, religious young man just finding his roots as the newest member of the Montgomery community, he is also every bit the family man, deeply in love with his wife and dedicated to her and his newborn daughter. But Wright never lets us forget he is a man, who becomes bewildered by the role in the boycott that destiny has chosen him to play, and even within the depths of fear, anger and despair, finds reserves of strength and courage within that surprise him more than anyone else involved in the struggle. The fact that he is able to inspire everyone around him to call on those same qualities within themselves at the worst time, is what made him the leader he was, and thanks to this Emmy-caliber portrayal, we see that.

Carmen Ejogo is not provided with as much material to work with as Wright, unfortunately, because she brings an impossible beauty, as well as an incredible combination of strength and vulnerability to her role as Coretta. One can only speculate that because time was limited, there was only so much we could learn about her, and it is to her credit that with the little screen time she has, she makes us want to know more.

The same can be said, happily, for the rest of BOYCOTT'S jaw-droppingly talented cast. The leads of a film can only be as good as the supporting players around them, and we have some true heavyweights here, whom a lot of people may not have heard of before. That should change after this.

CCH Pounder, who can take five minutes of screen time and give you an hour's worth of character, is just as stunning here as a local educator who throws herself wholeheartedly into the cause. Terrence Howard leavens seriousness with hearty humor as Dr. King's biggest supporter and best friend, Reverend Ralph David Abernathy. Two standouts must be given their due: Reg E. Cathey, who has shown an incredible amount of range and versatility this year, between his roles as an aging, streetwise heroin addict in Charles S. Dutton's HBO smash THE CORNER, and as a corrupt warden on the critically-acclaimed OZ, balances rage and resolve as E.D. Nixon, a longtime local community leader who at first resents, then respects the young Dr. King and how he helps the movement gather momentum.

Erik Dellums is equally remarkable as black journalist Bayard Rustin, whose former radical leanings and unorthodox lifestyle for that time (he was gay), do not diminish the value of his counsel to Dr. King and the members of the "Montgomery Improvement Association," though it does leave him with an incredibly hard decision to make, concerning the boycott's future.

Some of the white characters teeter dangerously on the edge of stereotypes as Johnson uses quick crosscuts to show a few of them either giving their side of the story to the camera, or tossing off the occasional terse comment ("You got trees. You got rope.") No doubt a lot of the portrayals ring true, especially those of the Montgomery city council, but if time and budget had permitted, it would've been nice to see how deeply the boycott affected whites as well, and not just from a mostly bigoted point of view. (Of course, this has already been chronicled in such films as THE LONG WALK HOME.)

In any case, BOYCOTT has done a wonderful job of capturing a moment in history that a new generation may be familiar with and know little about, and this ably-handled production will insure that it is not forgotten, or the contributions and achievements of those people, including and aside from Dr. and Mrs. King, Rev. Abernathy and Rosa Parks, who made it happen.

I am white, but Dr. Martin Luther King is near the top of my list in people I respect, and have learned from. I was eight years old when he was assasinated, and I still remember it. I have been delighted with these movies that have come along lately that explain what went on in the ten years or so before I was born, until I wass old enough to remember and respect these things first hand. "Get on the Bus", "4 Little Girls", "Miss Evers Girls" all fill in parts of the struggle for civil rights in this country. Everybody, black, white, whatever, should know what this country went through in the 50's and '60's. I am very aware that there are still 2 Americas and I'd like to see it become one in my lifetime.

I just saw Boycott on Kings day of celebration 2004 and it has renegized me as a filmmaker and brother. All the elements are her from Jeffery Wright's beautiful portral of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and the power to move forward on faith and conviction, to the supporting cast and the brilliant cinematography telling the story in both a narritive and documentary style. Much love to Clark Johnson for his direction in a film that offered us more of king then we ever knew and handling the material with the respect it is due. Let's not forget david Hennings who I hope to hire someday and Stewart Burns for such poignant writing. My favorite part is when every one gets on the now desegregated bus but king and you see it pull away with king in the back window. He is ordinary yet extraordinary and has more battles yet to come. The ending is inspiring and makes this a new classic in the history of king's legacy. Props to HBO and all involved.