The phenomenon of "Passing," a light-skinned African American person who is "passing" in life as white, was quite prominent in the early 1900's and may not be familiar to all. Though several projects over the years have told stories surrounded by it, including the musical Showboat which features an African-American character passing as white. The 1929 novel "Passing" by Nella Larsen laid out a tale that was very fresh and familiar to many: it told the story, in three parts, of a pair of old friends reunited in New York City. One occasionally "passes" when they can, but the other is passing for white every day, even married to a wealthy white man. Rebecca Hall has now adapted it and shot it in a luscious Black and White frame. PASSING narrows the scope of the novel, but only barely and still includes most of the powerful bits. Sadly, it also seems to keep you at arm's length, insisting on some sort of privacy as it unspools its story.
It's the 1920's New York City and Tessa Thompson plays Irene, a young African American woman who skin tone is light enough to sometimes pass as white while shopping or moving through Midtown Manhattan. She does so not with both feet in the water, but with trepidation, always with one eye over her shoulder. One day, while spending some time in the Drayton Hotel, a very fancy place and filled with well-to-do white people, she catches another woman's eye. That woman is Clare (Ruby Negga) and she heads straight for her, insisting that she knows her. Turns out she does, as they are old friends. Clare is also a light skinned black woman and while catching up, she reveals that she has been passing for years as white, climbing the social ladder and even got married to a rich white man (Alexander Skarsgård). Clare takes Irene back to her home where the rich husband enters the picture. He's a pompous man, but more than that he's terribly racist and while he makes horrible comments the two women are forced to simply laugh as to not give either of them away.
Irene returns to her home in Harlem, which she shares with her husband Brian (André Holland) and two children. Clare wants to meet up again, but Irene tosses the idea to the side, thinking that its best to simply move on. But Clare is insistent, desperately needing a friend but also still curious of the life she left behind her. The pair become close and Clare starts to attend functions with Irene and her husband. Irene is envious of how comfortable Clare straddles both worlds and Clare is envious of how comfortable Irene is simply living in hers. Yet along the surface simmers a quiet unease and unsteadiness between the two. A feeling of dread and jealousy seems to follow them. The film moves with a deliberate slow burn, revealing slowly a world that seems almost ready to crumble apart. Director Rebecca Hall is herself biracial and has had her own family members in the past pass for white. With that invested interest, one would hope for PASSING to fully embrace the troubled past of the 1920's, the fears of these woman if they are found out and the often unasked questions about racial identity.
It does, but does so at a distance. Both actresses, Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, have strong turns in the film. Thompson is quietly reserved and hurting, while Negga is sharp and whimsical and they both support each other's performance with ease. Yet Hall, who moves her film through a slow, uneasy pace, seems to lose us somewhat in the middle, ending up on a slightly repeated pattern. The emotions are often kept at bay, making the final act feel a bit rushed, though it does still arrive with a powerful effect. Yet it leaves you wanting more from the moment. If the characters had more to say, or at least more to share with us, perhaps the emotions would feel more lived in, more heartbreaking. It's a solid, good film, one that's striving to be great but held back by its own coldness within.
GRADE: B
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Nella Larsen SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTED BY Rebecca Hall STARRING Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: PASSING