This “appropriately classy” film explores the life and career of the late Sidney Poitier, said Alistair Harkness in The Scotsman. Directed by Reginald Hudlin, it features contributions from the likes of Denzel Washington and Spike Lee, as well as interviews with the great man himself (it was made just before his death earlier this year).
The latter provide “fascinating” insights into how Poitier’s upbringing in the Bahamas gave him “the fortitude to become not just the first black leading man in Hollywood history, but one of the film industry’s top box-office draws”.
Sidney is not only a reminder of Poitier’s immense charisma – palpable in films such as In the Heat of the Night and To Sir, with Love – but of his immense contribution to civil rights and the advancement of black actors, said Matthew Bond in The Mail on Sunday. It’ll leave you “desperate to revisit at least half-a-dozen of his best films”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Painstakingly thorough” though this documentary is, said Jeannette Catsoulis in The New York Times, it is rather “a compendium of hero worship”. The film was produced by Poitier’s friend Oprah Winfrey, and it feels a bit “peak Oprah Winfrey”. Still, there are moments where it shrugs off its “hagiographic shackles”, such as when Poitier’s first wife discusses the breakdown of their marriage following his affair with Diahann Carroll.
These scenes “act like lemon juice squirted on heavy cream, brief reagents in a movie that, despite the meticulousness of its making, seems a peculiarly orthodox tribute to a revolutionary life”.
-
Political cartoons for January 28Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include slipping in the polls, Kristi Noem in trouble, and ICE in the classroom
-
The Week contest: How now, smart cow?Puzzles and Quizzes
-
The UK’s supposed Christian revivalThe Explainer Research has shown that claims of increased church attendance, particularly among young people, ‘may be misleading’
-
6 exquisite homes for skiersFeature Featuring a Scandinavian-style retreat in Southern California and a Utah abode with a designated ski room
-
Film reviews: ‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ and ‘Young Mothers’Feature A full-immersion portrait of the Shakers’ founder, a zombie virus brings out the best and worst in the human survivors, and pregnancy tests the resolve of four Belgian teenagers
-
Book reviews: ‘American Reich: A Murder in Orange County; Neo-Nazis; and a New Age of Hate’ and ‘Winter: The Story of a Season’Feature A look at a neo-Nazi murder in California and how winter shaped a Scottish writer
-
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – ‘a macabre morality tale’The Week Recommends Ralph Fiennes stars in Nia DaCosta’s ‘exciting’ chapter of the zombie horror
-
Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
-
The Voice of Hind Rajab: ‘innovative’ drama-doc hybridThe Week Recommends ‘Wrenching’ film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza
-
Off the Scales: ‘meticulously reported’ rise of OzempicThe Week Recommends A ’nuanced’ look at the implications of weight-loss drugs
-
A road trip in the far north of NorwayThe Week Recommends Perfect for bird watchers, history enthusiasts and nature lovers
