The purpose of this blog is to highlight the presence of the people of the African Diaspora in period costume dramas. It is also to provide a historical context to the films featured.
Patina Miller is playing Charlotte Jenkins an abolitionist.
From the PBS website: Charlotte Jenkins is a smart, capable, feisty former slave-turned-activist who comes to Alexandria to help the growing population of refugees newly escaped from bondage (also called “contrabands”) in making the transition to freedom. She soon finds out that they need far more than education. Most contrabands have little more than the rags on their backs and few prospects for employment. The Union Army, tasked with their welfare, does little more than provide basic rations, and those are sporadic at best. (A little-known part of Civil War history, contraband camps existed in a sort of refugee netherworld between free and enslaved, with nowhere to go, no food and no money. Many died of disease due to overcrowding and starvation before ever learning what true freedom meant.) As soon as Charlotte arrives in Alexandria, she sees the magnitude of the crisis, recognizing the onset of a smallpox epidemic in one of the contraband camps. She comes to Mansion House Hospital seeking assistance and support, only to be met with prejudice and a cold shoulder from the administration. Undeterred, Charlotte turns to Mary Phinney and Samuel Diggs (McKinley Belcher, III) for help. Together they embark on a mission to contain the epidemic. Her alliance with Samuel Diggs sparks a friendship that holds potential for something deeper.
Patina looks great as Charlotte Jenkins and the prospect of seeing how the series handles the contraband camps is exciting!
Water White is based on the 2011 children’s book which was co-authored by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein. The film is based on a childhood experience of author Bandy and tells the story of a boy in 1963 Alabama who is obsessed with drinking water from the “Whites Only” fountain. I was drawn to this movie premise because my grandfather told me about his experience as a child in 1950’s Georgia wanting to drink from the white fountain. Like Michael, my grandfather found that the water wasn’t all he thought it would be. The narrative style and tone of the film fit perfectly as it is from the point of view of a 7 year old little boy. Watching the shenanigans that Michael and his older cousin Red get into was hilarious. Amir and Amari O'Neil were perfectly cast as Michael. Although twins they played the character in the same way. I was not even aware that Michael was being played by twins until I looked up the trailer to write this review. I was also impressed by the actin...
A family clash over an heirloom piano explodes. The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Washington co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams and is an adaptation of the 1987 Pulitzer-prize winning August Wilson play. The battle between brother (John David Washington) and sister (Danielle Deadwyler) — one hopes to sell it, the other refuses to give it up — unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler, and Corey Hawkins. The film will be in select theaters November and on Netflix November 22.
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ lovers the world over were excited when news of a new adaptation of the 1844 novel was reported. As a big fan of the 2002 adaptation, I was included in this group. I have always found the Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet tale of revenge to be exciting, passionate, and full of intrigue. However, I must admit that I have not read the book and so my love of the story is based strictly on what some book fans consider to be a less than stellar retelling of the original novel. Perhaps this Bille August directed series will be just what some book readers are looking for. I’m often on the “book reader who isn’t completely happy with the adaptation” side of things, so I really hope this retelling makes them happy. It’s going to be an eight-part series, which bodes well since the book is 1,000+ pages. Novels of that size are usually better told in series form. Sam Claflin (Enola Holmes and Daisy Jones and The Six) will play the lead Edmond Dantes. Poster for ...
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