In A Fairer World, ‘Origin’ Would Be A Vital Best Picture Nominee

 

Origin film poster. 

For the past few years, Black women filmmakers are reaching this great postmodern renaissance. They’re crafting incredible stories that put Black women’s experiences at the center of the cinematic picture— A. V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Chinonye Chukwu’s Till, and etc. Now Ava DuVernay’s latest picture Origin adds more crucial fuel to this poignant hot fire— a biopic unlike any other. 

Isabel (Aunjanae Ellis-Taylor) spends hours going over her research as most writers do. DP: Matthew J. Lloyd.

Isabel Wilkinson is in a crisis. 

The Pulitzer Prize winning author struggles to write a new book in a country continuously steeped in racial turmoil. She’s often reading books, jotting notes, and traveling around the world for research purposes, trying to meet deadlines— the film candidly illustrating the stages of a writer’s lifestyle. She interviews individuals who either agree and/or engage with her philosophies or those who take offense to her bold comparisons. 

Either way, Isabel stops at nothing to form research that she believes wholeheartedly in. 

Isabel relays some of her thoughts to her cousin Marion (Niecy Nash-Betts). DP: Matthew J. Lloyd.

Isabel puts in the work, uncovering unsettling truths centered around a system older and greater than racism and sexism alone— the original separation tactic that keeps certain people at the bottom while those on top cannot be toppled—caste. The threaded connections are woven into many cultural tapestries, so complex and nuanced, that Isabel herself becomes stunned yet fascinated by the roots of her vital discoveries. It’s an intelligent Black woman’s intense emotional labor— performed in the most beautiful countries. Isabel does what needs to be done. She pursued her theories and hypotheses with stunning perseverance and clarity, asking the right questions and receiving the answers needed to form her book. 

Stylistically similar to I Will Follow, Middle of Nowhere, and Selma, Ava DuVernay’s Origin meshes poetic elements together, soft vulnerable moments spliced between harsh violence and heavy memories. Origin is also a refreshing change from the typical green-lit Hollywood biographies— often formulaic and filled with false exaggerations. They love placing special emphasis on Black women musicians as though that’s their main contribution to society— next to mammies and slaves of course. 

The actress bringing Isabel to cinematic life is Aunjunae Ellis-Taylor, whose compassionate rendering of a woman’s desire to find truth through writing in the face of strife and grief demonstrated remarkable skill to the acting craft— a phenomenal masterclass. The myriad of emotional range and could overwhelm any eye. Yet Ellis-Taylor proves that she was fit for this part. Other performing highlights include criminally under-praised Audrey McDonald’s Miss character— her words regarding the racist school principal stuck well past the credits ended. Niecy Nash-Betts as Isabel’s cousin Marion provides a gentle backbone, a necessary reprieve from the cruel histories revealed through Isabel’s documentary work. 

Isabel travels place to place, a collector of valid information. DP: Matthew J. Lloyd. 

Origin should have been given a real chance to thrive. The message delivers pivotal and necessary knowledge, especially imperative in a world shackled by the permanence of this global foundation. It goes beyond isms, divulging a deeply embedded injustice system that cannot be ignored much longer. 

Some folks believe art has no real ability to change the world.

Ava DuVernay’s film starts a dialogue that disproves it.