Biggest Oscar snub of the 90's.

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2003)

In this film, Spike Lee tells the story of Malcolm X (Denzel Washington), touching lightly on his younger years, and detailing the change going to prison brought on in him, and the change leaving Elijah Muhammad's (Al Freeman Jr.) Nation of Islam to become orthodox. We also get to see X's private life away from the camera's, from the influence Baines (Albert Hall) had on him to the life he lived with his wife Betty (Angela Basset).
I was already familiar with Spike Lee's work before this film, but this is the movie that turned me into a Denzel Washington fan. Before I saw this, I brushed him off as another star gliding by on his looks - not because of his choice of roles or anything, but because I had never seen him in any films and tend to be skeptical about everything. When I saw this, I realized what a powerful presence he has. The glimpse we get of Malcolm X's transformation has Washington virtually portraying three completely different people. The scene where he breaks down when he meets Elijah Muhammad for the first time is one of the most powerful moments on film. I suppose the soundtrack helped that scene, but both Washington and Freeman Jr. were breathtaking there.
Basset was great, but she always is. Not to diminish her talent, but to be honest, I haven't seen her give a merely average performance yet, much less a poor one. So, I wasn't expecting any less of her. Lee was very unbiased in his portrayal of X, showing the audience how angry he was, and how when he first converted to Islam, he didn't do it because of religion - he did it almost as a means of channeling his anger. I also like how Lee shows him eating with white Muslims in Mecca at the end. Some of my family adhere to the Nation of Islam, and they seem to forget that Malcolm quit hating white people near the end of his life. It is just too bad that his life was ended by other black nationalists. In Islam we have something called maktoub - you cannot escape fate. So, I suppose he was meant to go down for taking a stand. Very sad, yes, but out of all the ways to die, it's probably the most honorable.
Both Lee and Washington were amazing here. I used to keep up to date with Oscar nominations (until films like Titanic and Saving Private Ryan started sweeping the awards - they were good, but not the best), and out of the 1991-2000 decade, Washington's nomination for Best Male Actor was probably the biggest snub. But, who cares. It's a good film on it's own, one all people should see.