PASSING – Review

In 1920s New York, two women, once childhood friends, meet again accidentally one hot summer day. Both are Black but one of them, Clare (Ruth Negga), is “passing” as white, married to a successful white banker (Alexander Skarsgard), who has no idea his wife is Black, while the other, Irene (Tessa Thompson), is married to prosperous Black doctor (Andre Holland) in Harlem. Set during the Harlem Renaissance and based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel of the same name, PASSING is actor-turned-director Rebecca Hall stunning directorial debut, in a drama that explores not only race but identity, feminism, personality clashes and the dynamics of women’s friendships in a tale that borders on psychological thriller.

Shot in gorgeous black-and-white, with a 4:3 aspect ratio that mirrors films of the 1920s time period, PASSING is an impressive, involving and thought-provoking film. It is, of course, not the first film to focus on “passing,” meaning the ability of some light-skinned Blacks to be taken as white, which allowed them during the era of segregation to cross the color line, whether temporarily for shopping or work, or by living under an assumed white identity. Previous Hollywood films, such as IMITATION OF LIFE, have address the practice, although they tended to punish the transgressor crossing the color line, but PASSING takes a more complicated look. Author Nella Larsen had some direct experience with passing, as she was mixed race but raised in a white neighborhood, and had a foot in both worlds as an adult. PASSING explores issues of race and “passing” but also delves into other questions of identity, of women’s satisfaction with their lives, the dynamics of friendship, and contrasting personalities, in a drama that almost borders on psychological thriller.

Director Hall draws fine performances from Negga and Thompson, and shows a firm hand as the story unfolds from the heat of summer to the chill of winter, and finally to its devastation conclusion. But one may wonder why a white English woman is directing this story about racial passing but things are not always what they seem, to paraphrase a character in the film. Hall recently revealed that she had learned at some point that her maternal grandfather, who she never met, was a Black man passing as white. So when Hall read Nella Larsen’s novel, it resonated with her, leading her to adapt it for the screen, and eventually make this film.

In a sense, both women are passing when they meet as film opens. The story is set in New York during the flourishing of the Harlem Renaissance, but it is also the time of Jim Crow and lynchings in the South, as the film notes at one point, Even in New York, segregation is in place and crossing the “color line” is risky. But it is a hot summer day, and Irene (Tessa Thompson) has taken refuge from the heat in a whites-only hotel restaurant, where she knows that with her light-toned skin means she is likely to be take as white. Irene’s awareness of that passive deception, and her nervousness about it, is revealed by how she hides much of her face under her cloche hat, as if looking people in the eye will give her away. But the day is hot, and she knows he can find a cool spot and a cool drink in that hotel. She does not expect to find Clare.

When a blonde-haired woman approaches her table, Irene tenses up, and does not recognize her old friend Clare. When Clare suggests they move to her hotel room to chat, Irene quickly agrees, uncomfortable with the public attention they might draw.

Both the women appear happy with their choices and both have comfortable lives, with husbands, children and financial stability. But Clare longs to reconnect with her friend, and her black identity, while Irene is cool to the idea. While Irene dotes on her two boys, Clare has sent her daughter to a boarding school in Switzerland, far from the racial attitudes of the U.S. When Clare asks her if she’s never considered passing, Irene bristles and reveals her disdain for what Clare is doing. She also expresses a fear for Clare’s safety, if she tries to reconnect with her black past, as well as worry about being too near that risk herself. When Clare’s husband appears, and reveals both that he is completely clueless about his wife’s identity and a confirmed racist, Irene can’t get out of there fast enough.

Irene has no intention of seeing Clare again. As we learn shortly, back in Harlem, Irene is active as a volunteer with an organization working to advance rights for Black people and a prominent member in the community. She is a devoted mother to her two boys and fully confidence in her own world, with none of the nervous we saw as she moved through the white part of town. Although she is not interest in renewing her friendship with Clare, Clare shows on her doorstep nonetheless

As charming, charismatic Clare slowly inserts herself into Irene’s life, Irene’s settled, quiet life becomes unbalanced, and cracks in the happy facade of both women begin to appear. Irene has built her life around devotion to her sons but now that seems to occupy her life yet she resists her husband’s suggestion they move to another country, as they once planned, raise the boys in a less racist environment. Irene seems to both resent and envy Clare’s freedom, moving between white and Black worlds and free from husband, who is often traveling, and child. There is a frisson of attraction between her and vivacious Clare but Irene senses a worrying similar frisson between Clare and her husband. Clare, on the other hand, seems to becoming bolder as she crossing between worlds, ignoring the risks she is taking.

There are personal dynamics between these two very different women, which plays out against the backdrop of Irene’s world, the one Clare wants to be part of while keeping her privileged one in the white world. The acting is excellent, and Hall explores the complex issues and the personal dynamics as the film builds tension, as the season change. Hall used the period details, the black-and-white images, and skillful mis-en-scene to both create the time period and the specific world of these women, While the focus is on the two women, the men are fully rounded characters and neither one-note villain or hero. All the ideas are gray areas, in contract to the film itself. t ends with with a shocking scene, where there is a flurry of action where it is not clear what happened, although we kind of know.

PASSING is a thought-provoking film, a well drawn view of the historical time period but a timeless look at interpersonal dynamics and the nature of some friendships. Hall has made an impressive start with an intelligent, gripping drama that also keeps you on the edge of your sear, and hopefully will follow up with another soon.

PASSING opens Friday, Oct. 5, in theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars