Oprah Winfrey Blog and Journals

The Great Debaters, the Oprah Winfrey-produced drama that is based on a true story (really), seems, at face, to be another "feel good" inspirational film that follows established story lines and character studies. However, I was surprised (and impressed) that Denzel Washington's second directorial film is far more complex and nuanced than that.

The story centers around the Wiley College debate team, and their path to victory in the 1930's with the help of their coach, Melvin Tolson. (Washington) Now a respected poet, I was expecting the film to mainly focus on Tolson's contribution to black history and literature. As mentioned, one of the strengths of this film is that, where most inspiration biopics like this are incredibly predictable, I found The Great Debaters to enter unexpected territory more often than not.


As with any Hollywood film, the picture does take some liberties with the source material, but I don't think it deviates enough to warrant cries of foul. Wiley College, historically an all black college at the time, takes on a number of opponents, usually from other black colleges, but eventually, because of their skill, began to debate colleges that were historically white.

And this is where the conflict is, as the movie is set in a period where Jim Crow laws are still real and lynching is an unfortunate reality. This is what the film does right; it hauntingly portrays the social and political nightmare this area of the US was currently in. (WIley College is located in Marshall, Texas.) There's a rather disturbing scene where the debate team happens upon a lynch mob; the camera sits behind the man who has been tarred, hung, and then burned alive. At first, we're not sure what we're looking at. But the camera pans out and then switches places to a shot inside the car. Henry Lowe (Nate Parker) brims with anger and fear as he realizes where he is. (And as we do to.)


The acting is solid throughout the film. It's not anything out of right field for Denzel Washington, as he's played outspoken and colorful characters before.  Forest Whitaker, who plays Civil Rights leader Dr. James Farmer, Sr., is also wonderful as a father running a school and trying to raise a son to be a successful black man.

That son, James Farmer, Jr. is played by scene-stealer Denzel Whitaker. By far, this was the best role in the movie and I was also surprised how much the film focused on his personal struggle to meet his father's expectations, as well as his owns. There's an adorable and sometimes heartbreaking sub-plot that finds Whitaker longing for his fellow teammate, Samantha Booke. (Jurnee Smollett, playing a character based off of Henrietta Wills, who was the first female member of Wiley's debate team.) James Farmer, Jr. is only 14 years old when he's accepted to the team and the film spends ample time analyzing his adolescent growth as he interacts with the people around him.


This is what surprisingly sets this film apart from others like and, quite frankly, from what I expected. By the end of the movie, the story delineates into familiar territory, especially the ending. However, the inclusion of personal character studies and the acknowledgment of the social atmosphere of the period is what keeps this film feeling fresh and less contrived than it could have been. (Seriously. There's a whole "communist/union/socialist" subplot that's totally unexpected and totally fascinating.)

It's a good film. Nothing mind-boggling or game-changing, but a solid film and one Denzel Washington should be proud of directing. It's intelligent, well-scripted, well acted all around, and, of course, just good entertainment.

The Great Debaters is in theaters now.