Ms. Hen reviews Passing

 

Passing

Directed by Rebecca Hall

2021

Ms. Hen decided to watch this film because she saw the preview, and she thought it looked interesting. She was mesmerized by the artistry of the film, and the visual aspects of the film were lush, and they drew her in. But that's not what the film means to do. It's about a woman who becomes reacquainted with an old friend who is passing as white.

The film takes places in the 1920s in New York. Irene is shopping and is passing as white uptown in New York. She goes to a hotel, and she runs into a friend from her youth and her husband, who is white. The women go to Clare's hotel room, and she shares with Irene that her husband doesn't know she's Black. Irene, horrified and disgusted when she meets Clare's husband; he insults her without knowing.

Clare comes back into Irene (or Rene's) life. Rene has a respectable position as a doctor's wife in Harlem. She thinks it's dangerous for Clare to come to visit her, but Clare says she wants to be around people like her again. Tension mounts, and Rene and Clare don't see eye to eye on some matters.

This is a film that doesn't answer any questions, it just asks them. The questions it asks are, is it okay for a Black person to pass as white? Do they need to? Would their lives be better because society sees them as white? Why does Clare think she needs to pass to get by in the world? This film took place one hundred years ago, and the questions people ask are different now, and the way Black people move in the world is different. There is no answer to these questions, but society is still dysfunctional, though great strides have been made.

Ms. Hen thought PASSING was beautifully made, the filming and the costumes and the lighting made her feel like she was in the 1920s. People moved differently then, and the actors captured that. 

Ms. Hen also enjoyed that Rene mentioned that the family was having chicken for dinner. She told the housekeeper to "save the chicken for tomorrow," because she bought yams. Ms. Hen likes chicken and yams alike.

This is an important film, and Ms. Hen thinks that it will be nominated for several awards. It's an escape to a time that doesn't exist anymore, thank goodness, but we're not finished yet, and Ms. Hen knows we still have more work to do.