140. Native Son

Song - In the Ghetto (Elvis Presley)

Movie: Native Son (Jerrold Freedman, 1986)

If Beale Street Could Talk is one of the best films of this century, but even if it had been crap, I would have been grateful to it for introducing me to James Baldwin. Unfortunately, the perspectives of black American leftist thinkers have almost completely passed me by. There are some obvious reasons for this. Emphasising that many of the heroes and intellectuals of the Civil Rights Movement had radical socialist ideals would be quite inconvenient for the stories Americans like to tell (about) themselves. Native Son, an adaptation of the 1940 novel by Richard Wright, is certainly not a great film, but it's interesting for trying to address this conundrum. 

I have not read Native Son, but I have read about Richard Wright on Wikipedia, which obviously makes me an expert! Apparently, Native Son was a highly controversial novel, criticized by Baldwin for presenting negative stereotypes of black Americans, the American literature world still feels uneasy about. It has been criticized for being violent, profane and sexually graphic communist propaganda, causing libraries and high schools to think long and hard about how to present it. Freedman's film doesn't really capture that provocative spirit and is a bit safe. But it must have been hard to adapt a novel by a devoted Marxist during the height of American anti-communist jingoism. When Bigger Thomas (Victor Love) drives Mary (Elizabeth McGovern) to meet her 'red' boyfriend Jan (Matt Dillon) in their socialist set-up/bar, we don't enter the establishment with her. Instead, the camera stays outside with Bigger, showing us shadowy figures behind windows adorned with communist slogans. 

The rest of the night Bigger drives Mary and Jan around town, while they use him as a prop to justify their beliefs and to explore black Chicago. These are among the film's best and most uncomfortable scenes - I would not be surprised if they influenced Jordan Peele when making Get Out, as they evoke similar feelings and ideas. This does so more successfully, as Mary and Jan truly believe they are benevolent do-gooders who will be of benefit to Bigger. They are completely oblivious to the fact that their shenanigans clearly make Bigger uncomfortable and put him in an anxious state of mind. In doing so they set in motion a chain of events leading to Bigger accidentally killing Mary. (As an aside, losing Elizabeth McGovern early is not a good strategy for a film.) The film emphasises that Jan and Mary, and their desire to show off how good socialism is/how good they are for being socialists, are to blame for Bigger's predicament. But when the trial against Bigger starts the film also emphasises that the communists are the only (white) people to care about him, who see his humanity and who help him regain some pride and self-respect. This nuanced approach also shows this to be a rare Hollywood film that seems aware that there are substantial differences between social democracy/socialism and communism. 

Unfortunately. the film does fail considerably in other regards. Bigger placing the dead Mary in the furnace would have been an iconic image if the scenes surrounding it were stronger. You can see how a description of the events leading up to Mary's death and their aftermath, could work well on page. To make them work on film, one has to embrace metaphor and artificiality. Freedman is too damn literal, and so most of it feels completely unbelievable and ridiculous. It doesn't help that Victor Love isn't a very good actor; you simply don't buy that he can successfully convince anyone of his innocence.