No History is Complete Without it.

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2014)

Spike Lee was right to say Malcolm X was "the picture he was born to make." Lee directed a film in 1992, which in 2014 and as long as humans exist, will be prevalent in time. It allows the audience to witness the connectedness of the black community while also displaying the disunity. After a fantastical long opening shot with Malcolm parading through the streets of Harlem in his new and vibrant zoot suit the viewer is placed into a magnificent room with what seems to be at least a hundred black men and women dancing, carefree. The camera continually focuses on Malcolm, or another couple dancing, and then zooms out to see most or all of the room, as a whole. The energy and vast shot gives an enormous sense of unity. Similarly, in the beginning scenes of Malcolm coming to be apart of Elijah Muhammad's teachings in prison, the links between the black men with him become apparent. As Bibi's voice tells of the horrors the white men have committed and the reasons they must break away from them, the camera pans across countless black men's sorrowful faces laid over mournful music. The close ups powerfully demonstrate the true feelings, for the words being said, and the enlightenment they have received.
In contrast the unity between the black community, the scene and moment in Malcolm's life which tells him he cannot be "anything he wants to be" is very effective. Malcolm's White teacher stands in the front of the row of desks Malcolm sits in. However, Malcolm is in the very last seat. The distance between the two seems to grow as the teacher scoffs at the idea of Malcolm becoming a lawyer and the cuts between the two reveal the many desks and space separating them.
Most importantly, Lee portrays Malcolm as he truly was. He was not an advocate of violence, as many believe. This is presented best when he leads Muslims to the police station after one of their brothers was hurt and arrested. They march in twos and are militant, but reserved. The long shot confirms there is no violence about them, only the angry observers who joined and followed. When they received entry to see him and called an ambulance they then marched once again, peacefully.
Although the film can seem long at times, the momentum never fails to pick up with quick cuts and gripping acting from Denzel Washington and the rest of the cast. No one's "Black History," let alone American History is complete without the visual, sound, and knowledge that comes with this film.