Passing Review: Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga Transcend This Tender Character Study

One may simply decide to embrace Passing for the promising duo of Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, or perhaps for the polished period piece’s rich nuances of racial identity.

Regardless, viewers will come away satisfied with this sophisticated, and thoughtfully quiet melodrama.

This film reaches beyond the fast-paced, plot-heavy films circling streaming services these days to deliver a tragedy that is effortless and light in execution, but heavy with emotional subcontext.

Passing, based on Nella Larsen’s novel, follows two Black women in 1920s New York City. Through a black-and-white lens, Irene (Thompson) has her way of life brought into question when she crosses parts with Clare (Negga), a childhood friend.

The premise suggests the main focus of this story will center on Irene’s deliberate choice to live within the Black community and Clare’s choice to pass as white, keeping her heritage a secret from even her racist husband.

However, this Black-led indie film looks to use the power of Hollywood glamour and this powerhouse cast to examine race, not through the act of passing itself, but the emotional turmoil of repression and identity.

It’s an insightful character study that examines the toxicity of social construct as something much more haunting, and grey than the beautiful black and white atmosphere suggest.

This delicate exploration is not your typical historical melodrama, there is no grand scale of violence or strife here. It will be off-putting for some, but ultimately successful in its effective use of secluded storytelling.

The concept of Black women passing as white could easily drive the film’s narrative, but it refreshingly does not. Passing does not explore race from the perspective of white society but through the tribulations of upper-class Harlem and the hypocritical white classes eager to peek in from the outside.

In a subtle, brilliant way the lens is much more concerned with the moments in between where the pain of paranoia rings true and the roar of conflicting perspectives overwhelms one’s sense of identity.

Director Rebecca Hall’s tender approach to a crisis of identity is fully formed and sure of its footing from the moment of on-screen conception.

It’s difficult to believe this haunting noir dream-state could be Hall’s directorial debut because, for all the unique pacing and framing choices you will choose to embrace or dislike about this film, it is still a remarkable tonal shift for a historical piece.

Even if Passing is not your forte and you find yourself lulled by the slow, sure pacing, Thompson and Negga will be happy to reassure. The duo’s perplexing and intoxicating friendship becomes increasingly fascinating as they execute this vision.

The true nature of their gentle, unnerving, and often obsessive dynamic never reveals itself, hiding in subcontext cinema enthusiasts will eagerly want to dissect. However, the expertise of these leads is never obscured by the large discussions on hand.

Thompson brings Irene to life with a fleeting emotional urgency, speaking not with crucial dialogue but communicating her internal struggle through pained expressions and a struggled composer; one that mirrors her imperialist struggle to cling to ignorance.

Irene wants to pass between both worlds silently and when faced with someone who threatens to have these worlds collide violently, she stumbles further into her internal monologue of strife.

This is where Negga dazzles as the confident ghost of Clare, a woman who becomes increasingly reckless in her pursuit to visit the culture she left. Negga takes charge of the dialogue, holding our attention until her last bow. Her character’s willy charming and unbashful greed to consume every interaction she touches is just as powerful.

Together these actresses are a storm to be reckoned with, elevating this quiet melodrama to heights one would believe incapable with a different cast at the helm.

Passing will draw you in with the promise of stunning cinematography and strong performances, but leave us to examine the uncomfortable truths of ancient race constructs that still pass as acceptable in our society today.

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What did you think of Passing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Passing is streaming now on Netflix.

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