A Must See for Everyone

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2014)

Spike Lee's Malcolm X is one of the most influential and underrated films in our history, now I don't want to say that it is the best movie I've ever seen nor Spike Lee's best film but it is one that deserves appreciation and recognition. Spike Lee allows the viewers a chance to look into the actual life of Malcolm X. There are many misconceptions swirling around the life of Malcolm X but this movie gives a clearer view of his actual life before his activism for the black community. Although Lee eliminates a majority of his childhood from the film he compensates by expanding his adult life.
Lee's soundtrack is one that moves the movie in many different directions and every song has meaning and emotion behind it. Malcolm's hustler days are accompanied by upbeat jazz music, while his time is jail has no music at all, in the time close to his death Sam Cook's iconic "A Change is Gonna Come", is played shorty before. These and many other choices in music are used to convey a whirlwind of emotions and send the viewer on a journey with Malcolm as apposed to the disconnect some receive with the novel, where readers feel like they are being preached to.
There is also a great use of long shots in the film, especially when there are large groups of people. In these long shots Malcolm is always seen, and easily identified. Lee allows the viewers to get a sense of how large the movement was along with the chance to see how important Malcolm was to the movement as a whole. Lee focuses on the Nation of Islam and the experience in Mecca was one that made Malcolm X seem as regular as you and I and not this iconic figure.
Overall the film does what it's supposed to do, given the time restraints. Lee and the actors, Denzel Washington especially, do a great job of allowing the legacy of Malcolm X to live on. This is why the last 5-10 minutes are so beneficial as they capture flashes of life before and after his death. It personally stirs a immense amount of emotion within me and is a timeless film that I'd never forget.