Native Son

NATIVE SON - HBO

Native Son, directed by Rashid Johnson and based on the novel of the same name by author Richard Wright, has the opportunity to really dig deep and promote a discussion on both police brutality and systematic racial prejudice at its fingertips but unfortunately fails to touch upon and explore these crucial elements to a fulfilling or even sufficient degree.

Granted, Native Son is an enlightening, gripping and profoundly harrowing feature, especially in the film’s second act where the pulse and tone of the film is changed in a shocking twist and turn of events. A particular scene that drops out of nowhere and changes the dynamic of the picture completely — effective and no doubt engaging — but proceeds from that very intense moment in a drab and flat manner. It feels as if a sizeable chunk of material in the region of thirty minutes is left missing on the editing room floor.

Depth and momentum to traverse and instigate thematic weight is lost for no reason aside to cut the running time down drastically from a balanced one hundred and twenty minutes to a restrained and dense one hundred minutes. The film builds with quite inspiring connective engagement and investment only to drop off with no return or climatic emotional commitment, settling for a brutal but much undeserved and rushed climax.

Ashton Sanders as Bigger Thomas suffices with a compelling and committed performance but does so with a role that does not particularly showcase a great deal of range or depth for the actor to develop. Sanders does, however, have a tremendous ability to visually evoke emotion, as shown in his breakout role in Barry Jenkins's feature Moonlight with a terrific result. Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson as Mary Dalton and Jan are drastically underutilised, which would not necessarily be the biggest complaint if their respective and joint arcs were not so integral to Sanders's Bigger Thomas trajectory. Elements, much like the film itself overall, are here for what seems like hollow circumstances and not integral pieces of the puzzle.

Native Son is released exclusively on HBO April 6, 2019.