Hello, Readers! Passing 2021, Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut arrives on Netflix this week after a brief theatrical run. The monochromatic drama, which is based on Nella Larsen’s novel of the same name, depicts the story of two mixed-race childhood friends who reunite later in life — one of whom is now passing as white and married to a bigoted spouse.
The work gave her “a context and a historical understanding for what must have happened in [her] family,” according to British actress Hall, who was drawn to the source material because of her family background, with her maternal grandfather passing as white despite being mixed race.
When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2021 at the beginning of the year, Passing 2021 got rave reviews, and it went on to play at several other festivals before being picked up by Netflix shortly after its premiere.
Passing 2021: Release Date
On November 10th, 2021, the film will be released on Netflix at 12:01 a.m. PST/3:01 a.m. EST. The picture, which was shot entirely in black and white, had a two-week theatrical run before making its streaming debut on October 27th.
Passing 2021: Official Trailer
The Plot of the Movie
The following is a synopsis from Netflix for this upcoming drama film: Passing 2021 is a movie based on Nella Larsen’s celebrated 1929 novel of the same name. It tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York.
Irene cautiously lets Clare into her house after a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, where she quickly ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, as well as her larger social group.
Irene’s once-steady existence is upended by Clare as their lives become more deeply interwoven, and Passing 2021 becomes a gripping investigation of obsession, suppression, and the falsehoods people tell themselves and others to safeguard their carefully built reality.
Cast and Characters
Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, André Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy round out the cast, which also includes Alexander Skarsgard as Clare’s spouse.