The production traces a landscape ranging from humble beginnings to the Oscars
Sidney Poitier was not expected to survive. He was born two months premature to ignorant tomato growers in the Caribbean. His father had planned to use a shoebox as a makeshift coffin.
the rise of Sidney Poitier from those humble beginnings to become a Oscar Prizeblockbuster and civil rights character who transformed Hollywood seems almost scripted, almost too good to be true, but so was the story of Poitier, a life well lived.
the new documentary Sidney he respects that life, presenting the portrait of a fighter who hopes to improve everything he does every day. “I’m really, really trying to be better tomorrow than I was today,” she tells the camera.
Written by Jesse James Miller and directed by Reginald Hudlin, Sidney is produced by Oprah Winfrey – who has borrowed several hours of his interviews with Poitier – and members of his family. The documentary shines with respect for a man who deserved it.
Poitier became the first black actor to win a Best Actor Oscar and the first to be a smash hit at the box office. He died this year at the age of 94.
For much of the film, a gray-haired Poitier addresses the camera in a gray jacket with a pocket square and a white shirt – impeccably elegant, as always. Sometimes old interviews bring out a younger Poitier, making it seem like he talks to himself.
Highlights include his devastating confrontation with teenage racism in Miami, the hilarious story of his first time on the subway, and how a commercial looking for actors changed his life. I can be many things here, he thought. Kicked out of the American Negro Theater for being terrible, he took acting lessons and lost his Caribbean accent by buying a radio for $ 14 and learning to imitate an announcer he admired.
The filmmakers have a charismatic changemaker as their goal, but to their credit they also explore the loss of their high ethical standards, such as when Poitier had a long relationship with Diahann Carroll, sparking a divorce that divided the family.
Poitier’s moral compass was stronger than the others. Early in his career, he turned down an exploratory role, a decision unknown at the time. And after he climbed to the top and opened the doors to other unrepresented actors, he was criticized.
Some have criticized him for being too complacent chainedarrested and helped a white Tony Curtis, or for loving a white woman in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? The pioneer became obsolete as black militancy gained strength. Then Poitier went on to direct and produce, still helping others move up the career ladder.
The film benefits from the heartfelt memories of Poitier’s children and ex-wife, as well as friends such as Morgan Freeman, Harry Belafonte, Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Louis Gosset Jr. and Robert Redford.
Other voices are less effective, showing the celebrity side but with little connection to the man. Barbra Streisand adds little: “She was like, Wow!” Movie stars should think ‘Wow!’ “- and it turned out that Halle Berry wanted to marry him.
Oprah also seems a little suspicious when interviewing herself, but it’s worth it when she remembers meeting Poitier on her 42nd birthday, a time in her life when she was criticized by the black community for not doing enough, as well as Poitier had done. state.
“It’s hard when you take other people’s dreams with you,” he told her. “And then you have to hold on to the dream that’s inside of you and know that if you’re true to it, that’s all that matters.”
For those unfamiliar with some of Poitier’s most famous moments, the news of an essential slap will come as a surprise. Fifty-five years before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, Poitier detective Virgil Tibbs slapped an actor who plays the owner of the white plantation in the movie “In the Heat of the Night”. He was electrifying, being 1967, when the civil rights movement was reaching its peak. Feeling how these future dark stars have profoundly affected is powerful.
Another rich vein is revealed in the relationship between Poitier and Belafonte, which one of the first’s children compares to the dynamics of an old couple. They united, fought, reconciled, once even ran away from the KKK. It almost seems like there is another movie here about these two charismatic men.
But first let’s celebrate Poitier, a man of impossible dignity and ethics, a man Lenny Kravitz says in the film “came to this Earth to move it”. / TRANSLATION LÍVIA BUELONI GONÇALVES
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Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
