- Starring
- Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, Malachi Kirby
- Writers
- Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons
- Director
- Steve McQueen
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 124 minutes
- Release Date
- November 20th, 2020 (Amazon Prime Video)
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s New York Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
When you seek to capture the fiery power of righteous fury in a story, you must be careful not to be burned by it. Not only have Steve McQueen and company harnessed that raw energy, they have tamed it and unleashed it as a master work in the form of Mangrove.
The first part of McQueen’s Small Axe film anthology series, Mangrove tells the story of the titular restaurant in the Notting Hill section of London in the late 1960s and the community who came together once its owner Frank Crichlow (Parkes) was harassed by racist police officers. Crichlow, along with fellow neighbors Dr. Altheia Jones-LeCointe (Wright), Darcas Howe (Kirby), and others organized to fight back. However, the unjust system of the time did not throw off its corruption so easily.
The naked wielding of violence against an innocent group of people is always a heinous thing. When that brutality is clothed in the uniforms of police, it becomes even more inexcusable. As Jones-LeCointe points out in a masterful performance by Wright, it harms not only those who suffer in the moment, but also all those future generations to come. The subsequent trial of the Mangrove Nine might have taken place 50 years ago. The issues they dealt with then are still being felt today as police continue the wanton destruction of Black bodies with little justice done. Evidence compounds week by week that this issue is systemic and perpetual. We do not learn from history and are thus doomed to repeat it.
Steve McQueen and his filmmaking team have captured both the spirit of the time in which Mangrove is set and our current times. Wright is exceptional. Parkes is fantastic. Kirby is awesome. Mangrove is among the best of the year. Full stop.
still courtesy of BBC
If you wish to follow more of my work, I can be found on Twitter and on Letterboxd.
If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.
