Passing (film)

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Not to be confused with The Passing (film).
Passing
A poster divided in black and white with a woman on each side. Under them is the tagline, "Nothing is black and white."
Promotional release poster
Directed by Rebecca Hall
Produced by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Screenplay by Rebecca Hall
Based on Passing
by Nella Larsen
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by Devonte Hynes
Cinematography Eduard Grau
Edited by Sabine Hoffman
Production
company
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • January 30, 2021 (2021-01-30) (Sundance)
  • October 27, 2021 (2021-10-27) (United States)
Running time
 99 minutes[1]
Country <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $10 million

Passing is a 2021 black-and-white romantic drama film written, produced, and directed by Rebecca Hall in her feature directorial debut. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, and its title refers to African-Americans who had skin color light enough to be perceived as white, referred to as "passing".[2][3] The film stars Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgård.

Passing had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021, and began a limited theatrical release on October 27, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 10. The film received acclaim from critics, who praised Hall's screenplay and direction, and performances of Thompson and Negga. The film was named one of the top ten films of 2021 by the African American Film Critics Association.[4] For her performance, Negga was nominated for the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress.

Plot

In 1920s New York City, Irene Redfield, a light-skinned black woman living in Harlem, meets a childhood friend, Clare Bellew, by chance at a hotel dining room. While Irene is married to a Black doctor, the also light-skinned Clare "passes" as white and has married a wealthy white man from Chicago named John.

Clare invites Irene up to her hotel room so they can talk more openly. Clare explains that after her father died, she was raised by her two white aunts and married John very young. They are interrupted by John, who openly despises and degrades Black people, unaware of his wife's or Irene's racial background. Irene leaves the hotel, angry with Clare, and refuses to respond to Clare's letters. However, after Clare unexpectedly shows up at Irene's home and apologizes for the encounter, they rekindle their friendship.

Clare, who wishes to associate with black people again, invites herself to a dance party that Irene is organizing. Most of the guests at the party find Clare charming, including Irene's husband, Brian. While there, Irene reveals Clare's secret to her friend, novel writer Hugh Wentworth, who seems less impressed with Clare than the others.

As time passes, Clare soon becomes involved in all aspects of Irene's life, joining Irene and Brian to all their outings. At first, Irene seems happy to have Clare around, but soon she becomes disillusioned with Clare, and starts to grow dissatisfied with her presence. Brian, also dissatisfied, attempts to teach his and Irene's children about racism in America, as Irene refuses to move anywhere else. However, Irene believes that the children are too young to learn about such things, inciting an argument between the two, further straining their marriage. After Brian invites Clare to a tea party from which Irene purposefully excluded her, Irene begins to suspect that Clare and Brian are having an affair.

When out shopping with her friend Felise, who is unable to pass, Irene encounters John, and hurries away as he begins to realize the truth about his wife's racial background. Irene tries to warn Clare, but decides against it when she is unable to reach her by phone.

As Brian, Irene, and Clare are on their way to Felise's Christmas party on the top floor of a seven story building, Irene asks Clare what she would do if John ever learned the truth. Clare replies that she would move back to Harlem to be with Irene, a response which Irene finds troubling. During the party, Irene remains silent, avoiding the other guests. She opens a large vertical window to smoke. Suddenly, John angrily forces himself into the apartment demanding to see Clare, who remains calm, and moves next to Irene by the window. John accuses her of being a "dirty liar" and lunges towards her, at which point Irene abruptly puts an arm across Clare's pelvis. Clare falls backwards out the window, but it is not made clear whether John pushed her, Irene pushed her, or she committed suicide.

In horror, all the other guests rush outside, not knowing whether or not Clare is dead. After some hesitation, Irene slowly goes downstairs, where the police are questioning guests. Brian states that he believes John pushed Clare, but when asked, Irene asserts that she believes the fall was an accident. The film ends with the police declaring death by misadventure, Irene sobbing in Brian's arms, and Clare's body being carried away by medics.

Cast

Production

It was announced in August 2018 that Rebecca Hall would be making her directorial debut on the adaptation of the Nella Larsen novel, with Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga set to star in the lead roles.[5] Hall had begun writing the film a decade earlier upon reflecting on her own family's history. When Hall presented her with a script version, Negga decided to collaborate in making it into a film as Negga was surprised the work was not more prominent, after having read the novel and was "completely astounded" by it.[6] Thompson stated that the film would be shot in black and white.[7] André Holland was cast in October 2019.[8] In November 2019, Alexander Skarsgård joined the cast of the film.[9]

With less than a month to go before filming production was set to begin, Hall was still $500,000 short on her desired $10 million budget, and had to apply for two grants to cover the difference.[10] Filming began in November 2019 in New York City.[11] The film is in monochrome. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian praised the use of a 4:3 aspect ratio as in this film it was "both fitting and practical given a smaller budget".[12] Into the third week of filming, the Hugh Wentworth role, originally intended for Benedict Cumberbatch, remained uncast, and budgetary realities and the tight filming timeline meant the production would need an actor who lived in New York. On November 21, Bill Camp signed on, and filming wrapped in December after a 23-day shoot.[10]

Release

Passing had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021.[13] Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film for around $15 million.[14] It also screened at the New York Film Festival on October 3, 2021.[15][16] The film had a limited theatrical release on October 27, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 10.[17]

According to Samba TV, the film was watched in 653,000 households over its first three days of release.[18]

Reception

File:Ruth Negga (cropped2).jpg
Ruth Negga's performance in the film garnered widespread critical praise

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 231 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While Passing's delicate approach has a dampening effect on its story, debuting director Rebecca Hall makes the most of an impressive cast—and handles thorny themes with impressive dexterity."[19] 85 was met with 46 reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of universal acclaim, based on {{{4}}} reviews.[20]

Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it, "a mesmerizing, deeply disquieting experience."[21] Jessica Kiang, writing for Variety, wrote that the film is "unerring, deceptively delicate, quiet and immaculate, like that final fall of snow."[2] In his review for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw praised Hall's direction, calling the film, "a very stylish piece of work from Hall."[22] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian, gave the film a negative review of 2 out of 5 stars, arguing that it had "disappointing lack of verve" and was "inert".[12]

The performances of Negga and Thompson in particular received praise. In a very positive review for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips gave the film a perfect score of 4 out of 4 stars, and wrote of the performances: "what Thompson and Negga accomplish on screen in this extraordinarily detailed portrait becomes a master class in incremental revelations".[23] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter lauded Thompson for her "unshowy, beautifully internalized performance", and Simran Hans called Negga "magnetic" in her review for The Guardian.[24][25] In Time Magazine's annual best performances of the year list, Stephanie Zacharek named Negga's performance of the best of 2021.[26]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
African American Film Critics Association January 17, 2022 Top Ten Films of 2021 Passing 5th place [4]
Alliance of Women Film Journalists January 25, 2022 Best Picture Nominated [27]
Best Director Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Actress Tessa Thompson Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Ruth Negga Nominated
Best Screenplay, Adapted Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Cinematography Eduard Grau Nominated
Best Woman Director Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Woman Screenwriter Nominated
Most Daring Performance Ruth Negga Nominated
Artios Awards March 17, 2022 Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent (Drama) Laura Rosenthal, Kimberly Ostroy Nominated [28]
Austin Film Critics Association January 11, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Nominated [29]
Best First Film Rebecca Hall Nominated
British Academy Film Awards March 13, 2022 Outstanding British Film Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Rebecca Hall and Margot Hand Nominated [30]
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Actress in a Leading Role Tessa Thompson Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Ruth Negga Nominated
Black Reel Awards February 27, 2022 Outstanding Motion Picture Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Rebecca Hall and Margot Hand Nominated [31]
Outstanding Director Rebecca Hall Nominated
Outstanding Actress Tessa Thompson Won
Outstanding Supporting Actor André Holland Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Nominated
Outstanding Screenplay Rebecca Hall Won
Outstanding Ensemble Kim Ostroy and Laura Rosenthal Nominated
Outstanding Original Score Devonté Hynes Nominated
Outstanding Emerging Director Rebecca Hall Nominated
Outstanding First Screenplay Won
Outstanding Cinematography Edu Grau Nominated
Outstanding Costume Design Marci Rodgers Nominated
Outstanding Production Design Nora Mendis Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association December 15, 2021 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Won [32][33]
Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Rebecca Hall Nominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association December 20, 2021 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga 5th place [34]
Directors Guild of America Awards March 12, 2022 Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film Rebecca Hall Nominated [35]
Florida Film Critics Circle December 22, 2021 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Runner-up [36]
Best First Film Rebecca Hall Runner-up
Georgia Film Critics Association January 14, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Nominated [37]
Golden Globe Awards January 9, 2022 Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated [38][39]
Gotham Independent Film Awards November 29, 2021 Best Feature Passing Nominated [40]
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Outstanding Lead Performance Tessa Thompson Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Performance Ruth Negga Nominated
Hollywood Critics Association January 8, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Nominated [41]
Best Director Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best First Feature Passing Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards March 6, 2022 Best Supporting Female Ruth Negga Won [42]
Best Cinematography Eduard Grau Won
IndieWire Critics Poll December 13, 2021 Best Film Passing 9th place [43]
Best Performance Tessa Thompson 7th place
Best Cinematography Eduard Grau 8th place
Best First Feature Rebecca Hall Runner-up
International Cinephile Society February 6, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Won [44]
Best Adapted Screenplay Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Debut Feature Runner-up
London Film Critics' Circle February 7, 2022 Supporting Actress of the Year Ruth Negga Won [45]
British/Irish Actress of the Year Nominated
Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker Rebecca Hall Won
National Society of Film Critics January 8, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Won [46]
New York Film Critics Online December 12, 2021 Best Actress Tessa Thompson Won [47]
Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Won
Best Debut Director Rebecca Hall Won
Top Ten Films Passing Won
Online Film Critics Society January 24, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Nominated [48]
Best Adapted Screenplay Rebecca Hall Nominated
Best Breakthrough Filmmaker Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society January 10, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Won [49]
Best Adapted Screenplay Rebecca Hall Nominated
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle January 10, 2022 Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated [50]
Best Actress Tessa Thompson Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Ruth Negga Nominated
Satellite Awards April 2, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Nominated [51]
Best Adapted Screenplay Rebecca Hall and Nella Larsen Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards February 27, 2022 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Ruth Negga Nominated [52]
Seattle Film Critics Society January 17, 2022 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated [53]
St. Louis Film Critics Association December 19, 2021 Best Supporting Actress Nominated [54]
Toronto Film Critics Association January 16, 2022 Best Supporting Actress Runner-up [55]
Best First Feature Rebecca Hall Runner-up
USC Scripter Award February 26, 2022 Film Adaptation Nominated [56]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards December 6, 2021 Best Actress Tessa Thompson Nominated [57]

References

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External links

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