After viewing this film at a screening the other night I briefly had an exchange with the minister husband of a writer friend of mine. He appreciated the film. I told him I felt it was a faith-based film done correctly. It doesn't transcend or challenge the genre with its message. It follows a standard, non-surprising story arc, but within the form of a musical, it holds up well in terms of competence of execution.
A little background:
This film almost didn't get made. It's been reported that some major male stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne passed on the pivotal role of the troubled minister grandfather. The production appeared to be dead in the water but somehow Forrest Whitaker (who happens to have studied opera and has an amazing tenor voice) stepped into the role of the minister and Kasi Lemmons (the writer/director) was able to get her vision transferred to the big screen. Obviously the budget was modest but the visuals and the highly stylistic approach (owing much to traditional musical theater) proved to be an asset.
My big concern with many faith-based films is not the faith part. It's the drama/story part. A good story tracks a protagonist's journey from problem to solution. The protagonist battles, overcomes obstacles, each which increase the tension, until he or she, takes a definitive action, that ultimately decides his/her fate. In the best stories, the protagonist has a deep self-revelation dramatically earned by what has come before, that causes the definitive action that resolves the story. In some faith-based films, the drama is over-wrought and melodramatic. The hero is tempted by the evil ones and the mishaps are piled on with increasing consequences. The wise, sage character advises the hero that the LORD will solve everything if that belief is just acknowledged. So the hero acknowledges his short-comings and presto, the problems are magically solved and cue the big gospel number and the story is over. The glaring problem here is the conclusion is not earned dramatically and the hero doesn't solve his own problem so what has he really learned? This weakens the story and the hero and drains all the dramatic tension from the story. In a good story, the hero learns how to solve or attempt to solve his own problem. Many faith based films opt for the "Preachy message" delivered by the Sage to save the day. This drives me nuts because this approach is cool in church but it is not dramatic and undercuts good story. It's lazy craftsmanship and sends me running out of the theater screaming "Booooooo" or makes me turn the channel with the quickness.
BLACK NATIVITY understands that it's a musical pageant on celluloid. It is a hybrid of the Ritual and American Musical Theatre forms. The story is predictable but the actors resist going over the top and infuse their performances with naturalistic expression. This approach works. It satisfies the True Believers, both dogmatic and more progressive, and the general not-so-particular religious folk. I hope it does well because it is a lesson to those who want to tell this type of story with competence and also raises the bar for those stuck in their dogmatic, over melodramatic, and lazy storytelling ways. On a larger scale, it helps open the doors to the idea that black filmmaking is capable of variety. We don't all run around slapping ho's around and shooting up the 'hood! Nor do we have to be a man wearing a dress over-playing yet another feisty, tired stereo-type that lacks the depth and individuality of say, Flip Wilson's Geraldine. We do have that but we're also capable of more...much more.
A little background:
This film almost didn't get made. It's been reported that some major male stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne passed on the pivotal role of the troubled minister grandfather. The production appeared to be dead in the water but somehow Forrest Whitaker (who happens to have studied opera and has an amazing tenor voice) stepped into the role of the minister and Kasi Lemmons (the writer/director) was able to get her vision transferred to the big screen. Obviously the budget was modest but the visuals and the highly stylistic approach (owing much to traditional musical theater) proved to be an asset.
My big concern with many faith-based films is not the faith part. It's the drama/story part. A good story tracks a protagonist's journey from problem to solution. The protagonist battles, overcomes obstacles, each which increase the tension, until he or she, takes a definitive action, that ultimately decides his/her fate. In the best stories, the protagonist has a deep self-revelation dramatically earned by what has come before, that causes the definitive action that resolves the story. In some faith-based films, the drama is over-wrought and melodramatic. The hero is tempted by the evil ones and the mishaps are piled on with increasing consequences. The wise, sage character advises the hero that the LORD will solve everything if that belief is just acknowledged. So the hero acknowledges his short-comings and presto, the problems are magically solved and cue the big gospel number and the story is over. The glaring problem here is the conclusion is not earned dramatically and the hero doesn't solve his own problem so what has he really learned? This weakens the story and the hero and drains all the dramatic tension from the story. In a good story, the hero learns how to solve or attempt to solve his own problem. Many faith based films opt for the "Preachy message" delivered by the Sage to save the day. This drives me nuts because this approach is cool in church but it is not dramatic and undercuts good story. It's lazy craftsmanship and sends me running out of the theater screaming "Booooooo" or makes me turn the channel with the quickness.
BLACK NATIVITY understands that it's a musical pageant on celluloid. It is a hybrid of the Ritual and American Musical Theatre forms. The story is predictable but the actors resist going over the top and infuse their performances with naturalistic expression. This approach works. It satisfies the True Believers, both dogmatic and more progressive, and the general not-so-particular religious folk. I hope it does well because it is a lesson to those who want to tell this type of story with competence and also raises the bar for those stuck in their dogmatic, over melodramatic, and lazy storytelling ways. On a larger scale, it helps open the doors to the idea that black filmmaking is capable of variety. We don't all run around slapping ho's around and shooting up the 'hood! Nor do we have to be a man wearing a dress over-playing yet another feisty, tired stereo-type that lacks the depth and individuality of say, Flip Wilson's Geraldine. We do have that but we're also capable of more...much more.
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