Passing (2021)

Set in 1920s New York, a black woman (Tessa Thompson) living in Harlem runs into an old school friend (Ruth Negga) and is astonished to find out that she is passing for white and married to a white man (Alexander Skarsgard). Based on the novel by Nella Larsen and directed by actress Rebecca Hall in her directorial debut. This is an almost hypnotic yet unsettling cinematic event. Hall's graceful direction permits the film to unfold like a good short story. Shot in the Academy ratio (1.37) and in striking B&W allows the movie to provide a conspicuous mood and atmosphere that reflects its time period or at least the movies of its era. The performances of Thompson and Negga are nuanced and perfect. I thought Negga was terrific in LOVING (2016) and was hoping she would get another strong film role and here it is. She's positively luminous but also tragic as a woman whose desire for materialism causes her to literally lose her identity. The film keeps the novel's ambiguous ending which is unnerving to say the least. With Andre Holland, Bill Camp and Antoinette Crowe Legacy.