Rustin
2023
***
Director: George C. Wolfe
Cast: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Audra McDonald, Jeffrey Wright, CCH Pounder, Aml Ameen, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Michael Potts, Bill Irwin
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was a key figure in the civil rights movement who organized the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of 250,000 people. Despite his pivotal role, Rustin was undermined due to his sexual orientation and past Communist membership. Colman Domingo's charismatic performance carries this otherwise formulaic biopic of a lesser known African American activist. The film really struggled to get me onboard during the first 30 minutes, but things improve once the wheels start rolling on the march. Rustin is a resilient, charming, and enthusiastic character, but the other people are mostly names on the screen.
