Malcolm X Film Review

Malcolm X is a 1992 historical biographical movie based on the life of the African-American activist Malcolm Little. Malcolm was a significant figure at the end of the civil rights movement. Until 1964, he was the Nation of Islam’s spokesman and a prominent advocate for Black liberation and the promotion of Islam within the Black community.

Malcolm X is a compelling film that tells the story of a man who went from being a criminal to becoming one of the most influential leaders of his time. Spike Lee did a fantastic job directing the film because he made it seem realistic without making it look fake or cheesy like other films have done before him. Malcolm X also had good casting choices because Denzel Washington played Malcolm X perfectly, which helped make this film as good as it was.

In addition to Denzel Washington’s great acting, Malcolm X had great cinematography as well because it used lighting techniques such as low-key lighting to make everything seem more dramatic than it already was. Low key lighting is when only one source of light comes from behind or above the subject (Denzel Washington). This technique made everything seem more dramatic than it actually was and made us feel like we were actually there watching what happened with our own eyes instead of just watching it on screen like most movies do today.

The movie is Spike Lee’s masterpiece. It clearly explains what kind of life Malcolm had, what kind of struggles he faced, and what changed his life. If we talk about the execution and direction, then the movie is fantastically done. Everyone did a fantastic job, from actors to directors, and each scene counts. The film is three and twenty-two minutes long but does not feel dragged. The movie does not try to make the plot like other movies; because of the topics and subjects discussed. Many themes were hot at that time but were not addressed on screens. Not only the film has a Black lead, but a Muslim Black lead. This is why this movie is, in my opinion, important even today because it has a main character who is a combination of both societies that are discriminated against in the United States of America.

According to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, life can be divided into three parts or categories, which are; aesthetic, ethical, and religious. And if we see the film, it is also structured in the same fashion. In his early life, Malcolm X is shown as a dumb person who takes pleasure in women and drugs; then his life changes, and he starts believing in a moral cause, but his morality was only for the black people. After that, he embraced Islam, became religious, and understood the universal unity of all races. All the things in his life, all the failures, struggles, and regrets made him more human, and before his assassination, Malcolm X was a complete man who believed in a cause worth dying for.

Now, if we talk about my experience, I liked the movie and would recommend others to watch it. I liked the messages and themes portrayed in the film, but I also found many things disturbing. First of all, is the addition of fictional characters to drive the plot and make it more interesting; that is, in his biography, Malcolm embraces Islam on his own in his cell, but in the movie, he is motivated. Secondly, many important aspects of his life are left behind, like what was his inner thoughts and what kind of mentality he had. His inner monologue is not correctly described.

To sum it up, Malcolm X is a movie worth watching for people of every race and ideology. It has many messages and lessons which are helpful to us even today. The acting and the direction are fantastic, and it does not feel boring to waste three and a half hours. If I were to describe the movie in one sentence, it could be that “It is a tale of a past, present, and future.”