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Malcolm X, 1992, 194 minutes, Rated PG-13
By Lisa Patrick
Like Gone with the Wind or The Godfather, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X is panoramic
in scope and beautifully photographed, edited and acted. Like those other movies, Malcolm
X was a classic from its release. |
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The film is based on The Autobiography
of Malcolm X, co-authored by Alex Haley, and is extremely faithful to its source. It
traces the main events of Malcolm’s life - and his thoughts, conclusions and
convictions - including his early years as the son of an independent thinking preacher,
his Boston hoodlum days, his years in prison, his rise to prominence as a Muslim and civil
rights activist and ultimately to his death. One of the more fascinating things to
consider while watching Malcolm X is that, as a movie, it’s only as introspective as
its subject. There are plenty of ironies in Malcolm X’s story (the most amusing may
be his wife’s straightened hair), but Lee does not treat them ironically.
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As a story literally told by its
subject, it’s difficult to evaluate and perhaps even harder to alter. But for this
reason, Malcolm X’s story may have been the perfect foil for Lee’s filmmaking.
With Malcolm X, Lee had the budget and creative license to create the precise movie he
wanted, with minimal limitations and possibly for the first time. Lee nicely combines the
resulting narrative with an exciting sense of rhythm, precise timing and incredible
visuals. M
March 2000
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