In this thriller and Sundance hit from a Nigerian-born director (Julius Onah), Amy and Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) have adopted their son from war-torn Eritrea. They thought the worst was behind them. Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) has become an all-star student beloved by his community in Arlington, Virginia. His African American teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), believes he is a symbol of black excellence that sets a positive example for his peers. But when he is assigned to write an essay in the voice of revolutionary Franz Fanon, Luce turns in a paper that makes an alarming statement about political violence. Worried about how this assignment reflects upon her star pupil, Harriet searches his locker and finds something that confirms her worst fears.
With closed captioning on Monday, September 9 at 5:00pm
“To say that it unfolds like a play is both accurate and undersells how gorgeously it has been rendered for the screen.” — Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times
“This provocation about race, privilege and the expectations that come with both features a star-in-the-making Kelvin Harrison Jr. and adds up to some kind of wallop-packing miracle.” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“No one gets off easy here, and no one quite gets answers, either; maybe that’s the point.” — Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
Julius Onah
J.C. Lee (play), J.C. Lee (screenplay), Julius Onah (screenplay)
Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth, Kelvin Harrison Jr.
NEON