BEFORE HE WAS BARACK, HE WAS BARRY.
The second film to be released in 2016 portraying the early years of future president Barack Obama. Southside with You took us on his first date with Michelle, but this one takes place eight years earlier when he arrived in New York City to study at Columbia University. Raised in Indonesia and Hawaii, with a dad from Kenya and a white mother, Barry has a hard time finding himself; dating a white girl with affluent parents, while also seeing how black people struggle in his neighborhood, gives him more to ponder. Engaging, with a credible lead performance, but ultimately not all that profound.
2016-U.S. 104 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Vikram Gandhi. Cast: Devon Terrell (Barack ”Barry” Obama), Anya Taylor-Joy (Charlotte Baughman), Jason Mitchell (PJ), Ellar Coltrane, Ashley Judd, Jenna Elfman… Linus Roache.
Trivia: First shown at the Toronto film festival, then released on Netflix.
