This Friday, both the national box office and Netflix will be opening with highly-anticipated films sharing a unique stylistic choice of an entirely black and white aesthetic. Belfast is Kenneth Branagh’s story of growing up, and Passing follows two, mix-raced childhood friends as they reunite as adults.
A movie straight from Branagh’s own experience, Belfast tells the tale of a nine-year-old boy charting a path towards adulthood through a world that has suddenly turned upside down. His stable and loving community and everything he thought he understood about life are changed forever but joy, laughter, music, and the formative magic of the movies remain. Belfast stars Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Jude Hill, and Colin Morgan. It is rated PG-13 and will hit theaters nationwide this Friday.
Mixed-race childhood friends reunite in middle-class adulthood in Rebecca Hall’s Passing and become increasingly involved in each other’s lives and insecurities. While Irene (Tessa Thompson) identifies as African-American and is married to a Black doctor, Clare (Ruth Negga) “passes” as white and has married a prejudiced, wealthy white man. Passing is written by Hall and based on a novel by Nella Larsen. The film also stars André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, and Alexander Skarsgård. It will be available for streaming on Netflix beginning Friday.
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