Review of Passing, directed by Rebecca Hall

As someone who has worked at a theater, and done work on women playwrights and writers in the Harlem Renaissance, I’ve been meaning to get my hands on Nella Larsen’s work for a while. I did end up reading Passing after watching this movie, but I remember when this film originally came out.

In 2021 I was just getting started really with this blog, as well as taking my new job as a film critic very seriously. I was going to go to film festivals and whatnot to interview talent, which had always been my dream ever since I took a film criticism course in undergrad.

But I knew immediately when this movie dropped on Netflix, and I made time to watch it back then. I knew how important these kinds of narratives are, as I knew the basic premise of the movie to begin with, and I wanted to see how it would come to life on the screen in front of us.

I was thinking of this experience when I decided to revisit the film recently. I’ve been doing a lot more academic research on the Harlem Renaissance and the women involved within it in NYC and Washington DC, and it felt natural to return back to this movie in the mean time.

Anyways, here’s my review and summary! I’ve rambled enough already.

Two childhood friends find their lives radically different as one passes for white.

This movie is set in New York City in the heart of the 1920s, when active racism and discrimination is alive and well on the streets of the city. One of our main characters is Irene, who lives in Harlem with her husband, a doctor.

Irene is going to a hotel’s dining room when she stumbles upon Clare, one of her friends from childhood. The two haven’t seen each other in a long time, and Irene is shocked to find out that Clare has been living her life passing as a white woman.

Clare doesn’t want to talk to her in public because of this, but invites her back into her hotel room. There, she tells Irene why she decided to pass, and she married her husband, John, who is a white man, at a young age. We learn why she passes as well because when John appears in the room, he is openly racist against Black people.

Irene is light skinned, so he does not realize she’s Black right then and there. Irene then flees the scene, angry with what she has just witnessed, but then one day Clare shows up at her brownstone. Their friendship resumes, and we learn that Clare wants to associate with Black culture again.

She comes to a dance party led by Irene, and Irene tells one of her writer friends about Clare’s background. He’s not too impressed with it. After the party though, Clare increasingly becomes more prominent in Irene’s life, and she begins to despise Clare because of it.

There’s also tension between Irene and her husband, as he wants to be open about racism with their kids. He also angers her by inviting Clare to a tea party she purposely was not invited to.

However, when Irene is out with her friend, John sees her, and he begins realizing that his wife is Black. The next event is a Christmas party, where Irene then asks Clare what would happen if John found out the truth. Clare mentions she would move to Harlem to be closer to Irene.

She flees the scene to smoke, and John shows up to the party. He confronts Clare, who then falls out of the window. We’re not too sure if Irene or John pushed her. Another possibility is that she committed suicide as well. The party ends, with Irene saying to her husband she believed Clare’s death was an accident.

The film then concludes with Clare being carried out as Irene cries.

Overall Thoughts

This is such a compelling premise, and after learning more about the history of the period, it becomes even more of an interesting movie to me. The black and white is also another layer to it—I thought it added more ambiguity to the film’s overall themes.

I think the acting in the film is excellent, although other people might find it a bit of a snooze if they’re used to more direct films about conflict. However, this is such an important movie to watch, as a lot of people who passed slipped through the cracks.

I’d say go watch this one if you haven’t already! Both actresses do such a good job, and it’s a solid film overall. If it interests you, definitely go for it.

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