Harlem Renaissance author Nella Larsen’s “Passing” has been turned into a Netflix movie.
“Passing” is the story of two biracial women — one of who is able to “pass” for white who live on “opposite sides of the color line.”
Netflix released the trailer for its film, marking the directorial debut of Rebecca Hall. Thompson plays Irene Redfield, who is staggered by her close friend’s lifestyle. Irene lives in Harlem with her husband, a Black doctor. Ruth Negga stars as the “passing” Clare Kendry, who is married to Alexander Skarsgård — an openly racist white man. Clare, who lives in a nice part of Manhattan, keeps the truth from her white husband.
The movie is considered to be a profound exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, colorism, and repression.
“Passing” will get a limited release in theaters on October 27, 2021, before premiering on Netflix on November 10, 2021. The movie will also appear at the New York Film Festival on October 3, 2021.
Hall considers herself a “white passing” biracial woman.
“I don’t have any experience of being a Black person in America,” Hall told The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t know what that feels like because I present as white, I go through the world as white, you know. But what I do have an experience of is being raised by people who were also raised by people who made choices that were shaped by living in a racist society.”
Hall revealed to the publication that a friend introduced her to Larsen’s novel.
“I was flailing around. Identity is a hopelessly complex issue,” she explained. “But I read the book, and I was powerfully moved by it in a way that was really difficult for my 25-year-old brain to handle. I think much better when I’m writing than when I’m speaking, which is why being a public figure has always been a little bit problematic for me. So, my solution to understanding was to sit down and adapt it into a screenplay.”
