Transcends the Written Autobiography

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2014)

Spike Lee brings several of the very important themes and ideas that appear in The Autobiography of Malcolm X into focus and to a new level in his epic biography Malcolm X. In the autobiography, as told to Alex Haley, readers typically only experience events through Malcolm's eyes as he goes through his every day life, seeing what Malcolm sees and hearing his thoughts. The film, on the other hand, transcends Malcolm's mind and not only gives viewers his take on the world but also provides perspectives and emotions from multiple points of view, which pushes viewers to a deeper understanding of Malcolm X's positions and more direct confrontation of the tensions of race conflicts in the USA.
In the film, Lee spends the first portion of the movie glorifying Malcolm's hustler life through exaggerated composition to highlight the contrast between reality, shown in flashbacks, and the pretend world of the hustle. The characters' movements, the almost constant upbeat and jazzy non-diegetic music, the soft focus background, and the surrounding calm and happy colors with an almost orange filter almost make the scenes look unrealistic. Lee's creative use of this exaggerated composition helps to set up the delusion of the white world "hustler Malcolm" lives in. For instance in one scene, Washington (Malcolm) and Lee himself (Shorty) are running through the park enclosed by soft and happy colors and non-diegetic jazzy music with their conked hair and zoot suits, adopting white mainstream cultural influences with pretending to be " Cops and Robbers" and taking on the roles of white actors of the time. Lee's composition in these scenes purposefully contrasts with the reality of Malcolm's real, early-life experiences. The only time the viewers get a hint of the reality of Malcolm's actual past is when Lee cuts to choppy, fast, and somewhat confusing scenes flashback scenes. In these flashbacks the viewers get thrown into a direct contrast to the previous shots of the hustler life Malcolm was living and his future life as a Muslim minister. There is more low-key lighting and a darker, vintage filter, helping viewers understand that these shots are serious and realistic and they present what Lee wants the audience to understand that Malcolm is running away from. Moreover, the only time the non-diegetic sound (upbeat soundtrack) stops in the flashbacks and viewers are left with the somber feeling created by the uncomfortable diegetic sound. Spike Lee also does an amazing job of juxtaposing Malcolm's false hustler reality with the flashback of his father's death, an actual event. Viewers get a clip of a long angle and medium shot of Malcolm's father's battered and bloody face surrounded by low-key lighting except for the line of light coming from the train. The viewers see the fear and pain in his face as the whistle of the speeding train rushes toward him causing his demise. The use of these contrasting techniques serves to exaggerate the idea that Malcolm is living in a false world as a hustler.
Likewise, later depictions in the film of Malcolm's life after jail, the shots, filters, and sound continue to contrast with Lee's use of them in the "hustler days" part of the film. Lee's use of these contrasting techniques is not simply to speed along the story for the purposes of fitting it into a movie. Instead, Lee masterfully uses the techniques to symbolically demonstrate that by attempting to live in a white man's world and being forced to respond to the systemic racism in society, Malcolm had to pretend to be something and someone he was not until he came to understand that he needed to fight that pressure. Overall, Lee's Malcolm X is extraordinarily effective in bringing The Autobiography of Malcolm X to life for viewers. Lee's techniques throughout the film evoke a strong emotional response and resonance for viewers that the written autobiography cannot.