Review of Shirley, directed by John Ridley

Biopics have been something I have been consuming avidly lately. In addition to my recent obsession with Korean dramas, biopics have been consistently added to the rotation of daily watches when I have nothing to do.

I’ve been seriously into leaning more into movies and television over reading, and I hope to fix this balance when I move to India at the end of the summer in 2024. I’m writing this in May 2024, which is quite a bit of time away.

Shirley is a movie I spotted being added to Netflix, and I saw it then, nodded, and then promptly forgot about the movie. It was on a boring Tuesday morning that I decided to randomly watch this movie, even though I had no idea about the historical context of Shirley and the monumental things she did during her time running for President.

And even though these aren’t the the most entertaining movies, there is so much value in watching these stories. We learn about history and the people who lived and worked through some of the most difficult times in recent years.

I’m rambling, so let’s get into the review!

Shirley Chisholm runs to be the first Black woman as US President.

Our main character in this movie is Shirley Chisholm, who makes history in a different way at the beginning of the movie. We see how she becomes the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, creating a platform for minorities and women by targeting their issues and explaining to the world how these issues are a prominent problem for so many Americans.

When Shirley arrives in Congress, there are a lot of hills to climb. As a new elected official, she is pretty much at the bottom of the food pyramid, and is unable to get into the committees she wants to at first. This creates friction between her and some other officials, especially as she fights against the placements she’s been given and goes against the grain in that way.

However, it’s during her time in Congress, despite the long hours and sometimes arriving home late at night with no food to eat, that inspires Shirley to take the next step: she’s going to run for President of the United States, even if it means that she’s making history and will probably not make it all the way through.

The odds are against her, but Shirley tries her best and hires a team. With the help of other seasoned experts, young people she finds on campus, and plenty of other helping hands, Shirley pieces together a campaign that’s pretty scrappy in the end. Her methods are unorthodox, even if it means she gets a lunch break where no one can come in while she eats McDonalds.

However, it becomes pretty clear that Shirley needs to make more strategic moves, especially against her components. Some of the key states she is trying for are stacked against her, and she needs to target certain segments of the population even more if she even wants to have a fighting chance.

When one of her opponents is in the hospital, she even extends an olive branch and goes to visit him, despite them technically being in competition. We also see the friction created in her own community as an Barbadian American, as her sisters do not agree with her actions and running for President of the USA.

Overall Thoughts

While Shirley does not win the Presidency in the end, and, in 2024, we still have not had a woman as a president of the country, I’m glad to have watched this movie and learned about her. I had no idea about her before watching this, which is terribly sad, as she has passed since.

I did not find this the most entertaining movie, though, and could see how someone else might find this dry. But sometimes that’s not how we watch movies—we need to learn something, too.

Regina King had a fantastic performance, though. She did an excellent job in the role, even if the script was lacking in some parts.

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