European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Lee hits the Maze of x Marks in Marathon filmy Dan Hulbert the Atlanta journal Constitution first things first is Spike Leeds Malcolm x inflammatory How about shots of a screen wide american Flag slowly engulfed by flames alternating with the infamous footage of Rodney King getting his traffic citation on the pavement of a los Angeles Highway and those Are just the opening credits. But that a Only one aspect of this Complex often engrossing Overly Long three hours 21 minutes erratic film which was screened nov. 7 for the nations film critics. It opens nationally wednesday. In the final analysis the portrait of Malcolm a blazing Denzel Washington that emerges is True to the one the Black Power Leader left in his autobiography of Malcolm a co written with Alex Haley. That is a Man who hated White society for its history of oppression More than he hated individual Whites a Man who was ready to strike Only when struck. There Arentt any fully sympathetic Whites in the film but then there a no reason to suppose that on his particular life path Malcolm had occasion to know any. On one level Malcolm x is a Story of spiritual Awakening and personal redemption that Whites As Well As Blacks can be inspired by a the Story of a Petty criminal so transformed by the teachings and the immaculate lifestyle of Elijah Muhammad that he emerged from prison one of the most electrifying leaders of the 20th Century. Also a and this is the aspect of the Man that is often overlooked today a it shows the muslims conversion from a bitter Black supremacist into a More peaceful racially tolerant visionary after his pilgrimages to Mecca in the last years of his life. In some ways its a bravely straightforward uncool portrait of Malcolm a the severe Teet Taler in Bow tie and spectacles a who would probably condemn As decadent today a violent rap songs devoted to his spirit. Malcolm x is a Rich and Complex Story that needs Warner Broc. Denzel Washington in Malcolm x. More than three hours to Tell but Lee can to quite sustain his tremendous narrative drive for the final hour. The movie gets bogged Down in the Back room politics of the. Nation of islam that reportedly led to Malcolm a 1965 assassination on a speakers podium in new York City. After the shocking assassination scene a vivid swirl of mayhem and panic that shows Lee at his most masterful the movie unravels in a Hodgepodge of images presumably intended to show Malcolm a legacy to the present Day. These final scenes have the rushed Home movie Quality of a project that had run out of time and Money As this one had. There seven a Cameo shot of a sleepy eyed Bill Cosby that seems to serve no other purpose than to say a thanks for writing the emergency Check there a also a halfhearted scene of Nelson Mandela addressing South african schoolchildren which should receive an Oscar for worst use of an International political legend. But the Sloppy ending can to erase the indelible images of the first two galloping hours. From the opening Crane shot that swoops under a Boston elevated train platform to reveal a bustling world of 1940s Street life Washington with Lee As his sidekick shorty in flamboyant zoot suits Lee shows himself a master of telling a lushly designed big Story Hollywood style. In fact the scene in which Malcolm meets his White mistress and partner in crime Kate Vernon is a �?T40s dance Hall extravaganza that s almost As Jitterbug singly exciting As anything the late Bob Fosse might have choreographed. The heart of the film is the stint in prison where Malcolm Little discovers islam and drops his Quot slave name a to adopt the famous of All the supporting players and there a not a weak one in the film the Best May be Albert Hall As Baines who indoctrinated Malcolm into the Faith. As Hall radiates silent intensity from every pore you can understand Why Malcolm is compelled to listen to his gospel of Quot giving up the White Man s poisons Quot a including the Tum the other Check Credo of christianity. If Malcolm slows Down late in the Niovich just when it should be accelerating toward its hero s doom Lee must be commended for not taking any easy shortcuts. He carefully almost boringly spelts out the issues that splintered Malcolm from the nation of islam Hierarchy a too much publicity for himself a sexual scandal involving Elijah Muhammad played by an impressive Al Freeman or. A when it would be tempting to pull an Oliver Stone and whip up a conspiracy theory. The intelligent script co authored by Lee and Arnold Perl hardly seems like the work of a Man who would claim As Lee has that aids is a government plot against Black people. Although he shows government spies one of them played by filmmaker John Sayles hovering and praying to find dirt the director unflinchingly a in the face of warnings from today a Muslim spokesmen a shows the downfall of Malcolm As engineered by envious Black men. In a consummate performance Denzel Washington travels the full arc of Malcolm a journey from boys Fly charming Strutter to ice blooded criminal to driven demagogue to Loving family Man and mature visionary. When he meets his idol Elijah. For the first time Washington is so convincingly overwhelmed that his body is stooped and trembling and tears Spring from his eyes. But As Many of the movies critics feared Washington May be too cute for his own Good. No matter How forceful the actor is As an orator and there is a stunning speech scene reminiscent of citizen Kanehe never manages the chilling unknowable Ness that still comes through in newsreels of Malcolm a speeches the Persona that scared Whites so much that they misinterpreted or exaggerated the degree to which he actually advocated violence. The Bottom line is that the film Malcolm x is As Complex As the Man it portrays. Cafes uyt Malcolm a will appear at its throats is in Lata a Spike through Leeds racist dictum by Dianne Klein los Angeles times film director Spike Lee has let it be known that if i and others like me in at least one respect were to request an interview with him he would turn us Down. The reason we re not Black. Let it be known also that Lee is out to hype his new film Malcolm a and that the Man is nothing if not a raconteur in service of the Bottom line. Which he is to be admired for done to get me wrong. Only in America can the masses regardless of race aspire to Fork Over $375 for a leather jacket with an x on the Back. Pick it up at spikes joint on los Angeles trendy Melrose Avenue or at a selected store near where you live. But hey this is simply the Way things go. Certainly the Hollywood groupies a and done to be fooled just because their x might appear As a discreet Gold Lapel pin a understand this Well. The Media too Are in on the gig having Long ago perfected the Art of Back scratching without so much As batting an Eye. A a free movie publicity is supposed to work something like this the interviewer gets to spend time with the Star up close the Public gets a vicarious thrill newspapers and magazines sell to ratings jump and everybody associated with the film makes big Bucks. And judging by the months Long Buzz Over the latest Lee project a perhaps you remember the directors exhortation that Blacks skip school and work to catch Malcolm x on its opening Day a the scenario is right on track. Meantime the Warner Bros publicity department has been Busy stacking up requests for interviews with the director from around the Globe. But Leeds a Guy with standards after All. So the Man has spoken african americans Only please. For the record the los Angeles times said that it change its plan to have a White reporter talk to Lee so the interview was canned. In reaction to a spate of negative publicity Lee issued a statement saying that he would prefer to talk with an african american but that it Wasny to a hard and fast Rule the reason for All this Lee says he a tired of answering a a stupid questions from Whites like about whether he has any close friends who Are fair of skin. A White woman writing for Esquire Magazine asked him this not Long ago and in her piece Lee came off like a rude and arrogant Jerk. Lee said he was annoyed by the writers attempts to prove to him that she was politically Correct on the Issue of race shed once had a Black Boyfriend and was a pal of Black writer James Baldwin. He was also irate Over the title that the Esquire editors picked Quot Spike Lee hates your Cracker Lee Hasni to publicly mentioned the contents of the Story itself. I read the piece As soon As it came out. And As a White woman i Felt mooned by the director up close. An african american Lee suggests would have never written a Story like the Esquire piece. He believes that Blacks Are innately More receptive to the messages of his films. And in the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt who insisted that Only women cover her news conferences Lee says what he a really doing with his newfound interview selectivity is advancing the careers of journalists who Are Black. As a celebrity interview subject Spike Lee is a catch. So give this Man some Points for honesty. Big shots routinely try to manipulate the Media Many of them succeed. Everybody wants the Best writers and those most sympathetic to their cause. But subtract More Points for bigotry. On the scale of tolerance and open mindedness i think Spike Lee clocks in around minus 10. This Isnit just a Black thing. Its about humans All around. Prejudging somebody on the basis of their color is Flat out wrong and amazingly stupid too. . Spike i do like your films. Sorry Guy i know you done to give a Damn. November 15, 1902sunday a Page 7
