The Great Debaters
Normally, I’m not the type of person that would sit down to watch “another horribly clichéd, emotionally charged, uplifting feel good Oprah movie”, but because I was on my high school debate team I thought I would give Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters a shot. Although it was everything that I thought it would be, Denzel Washington used the genre conventions perfectly, adding just the right amount of drama and powerful monologues to pull on the heartstrings of even a cynic like myself.
The film is loosely based on the true story of the first black college debate team to win the national championship. In addition to directing the film, Denzel Washington plays the radical professor, Melvin B. Tolson who puts together a debate team in at a small all black college in Texas in 1935. The three lead debaters on the team fall into your typical archetypes for an inspirational story such as this. There is the boy genius (Denzel Whitaker), the misunderstood bad boy (Nate Parker), and his love interest (Jurnee Smollett) who also happens to be the first female to ever be on the college debate team.
Although, the film has a rather simple plot, the subtleties of the subplots are what really make this film shine. Taking place in the deep south of the thirties, Washington is able to explore the relationship between racism
, poverty, and the fear of communism in ways that other inspirational films would be too afraid to touch. There are scenes that show that even scholarly achievements mean nothing compared to the color or your skin. While showing that in the eyes of the rich landowners, money is the only thing that matters; poor whites are equally as worthless as poor blacks.
The Great Debaters marks Denzel Washington’s second film as director and he proves that he has talent here as well. He and writer Robert Eisele blend history and fiction (much more fiction than history) beautifully to work this story into an uplifting film that might teach as well as inspire.
Over all, I was pleasantly surprised by the film. Other than the few issues I had with the debate cases conveniently matching the real life struggles of the debaters, I thought the film was well written, greatly acted, and highly inspirational. Whether you are an extreme Oprah fan or not, chances are you will be moved by this film’s powerful messages.
Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Technorati Tags: The Great Debaters, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Oprah, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Review, Drama, Racism, Inspirational
