Malcolm X (1992)
Lee begins his film with Malcolm as a young man in Boston, running around in colorful zoot suits with his friend Shorty (Spike Lee, as a fictional character). Much is made of Malcolm "conking" his hair, to look white. He works on a train as a waiter, but when he lands in Harlem he takes up with a numbers racket, run by West Indian Archie (Delroy Lindo) another fictional character.
Eventually he goes to jail for burglary, and there meets Baines (Albert Hall), and you got it, he's fictional. Baines converts him to Islam, using specious arguments like the definitions of white and black in the dictionary (these definitions were formed by fear of darkness, not out of racial animosity, as Baines would have it--let's fact it, black people aren't really black, and white people aren't really white).
When he gets out of prison, Malcolm, who has foresaken his last name of Little for an X, indicating the unknown, becomes a minister of the Nation of Islam. He is ruled by Elijah Muhammad (Al Freeman Jr.), who was a real person, and becomes the spokesman for his group, making flame-throwing statements like all white people are devils and black people aren't Americans; they are Africans who happen to be in America.
After making snide remarks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm is disciplined by Muhammad, and later it will come to light that the great man doesn't follow the Islam law of no adultery, fathering many children out of wedlock. That, plus an eye-opening trip to the Middle East, including a hajj to Mecca, convinces Malcolm that he was wrong, and that he and white people can work together. This is his death knell, though, and he is murdered by Nation of Islam members at the Audubon Ballroom in 1965.
It's clear that Lee has chosen Malcolm's story to address his own peeves about the status of black America, by including footage of the beating of Rodney King (who has just died) in the opening credits, followed by a burning flag. At the end, he has Ossie Davis recite his eulogy that he gave at Malcolm's funeral, which is fine, but then having schoolteachers (including Nelson Mandela) praise him as a hero is a bit over the top. I happen to think Malcolm X was something of a hero, but these scenes turn an otherwise fine film into propaganda.
The script, by Lee and Arnold Perl, also makes some errors. Malcolm's conversion isn't correctly depicted--it wasn't so neat and tidy--and his marriage to Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) is given a rosy glow. In truth, there's evidence that he didn't marry the woman he really loved, who is not a character in the film, and may have strayed in the relationship. Also missing is Malcolm's overtures to white hate groups, like American Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell, because the two groups both favored separation of the races. Lee does show Malcolm's family, when he was a small boy, being terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan, so this seems a bad oversight.
Of course it is a three-hour plus movie. But much of Malcolm's pre-Islam days could have been cut. I'm not quite understanding the West Indian Archie stuff, since it didn't happen. Other than getting a chance to show off some nifty costumes, this film would have better had it started with Malcolm in prison.
The best thing about the film is Washington's performance. He's in almost every scene, and carries this huge film over his shoulder easily. I especially appreciated minor touches, such as when Malcolm faces down his assassins, he has time to give a quick, acknowledging smirk. That Washington lost the Oscar that year to Al Pacino's hammy performance in Scent of a Woman still rankles.
Malcolm X was a fascinating figure during a fascinating time, and this is a good movie, but I recommend anyone who would like to know more, and get some of the facts straight, read Marable's book.
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