Movie Review: Origin

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

While not a perfect movie, it does have moments of true cinematic brilliance. 

This film is based off the true-life story of Isabel Wilkerson and how in the wake of the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin, she wrote the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents which talked about the mistreatment of black people through US history and the connection to caste systems in other countries. At its best this film becomes less of a typical movie but rather a visual essay (reminiscent of great filmmakers like Agnes Varda and Jean Luc Godard). This is especially true during the scenes in India. These scenes are done very effectively in a documentary style and there are times, when you almost forget that you are not watching a documentary. The result is masterful. Using this type of filmmaking wonderfully draws us into the words we are hearing and the message that is being conveyed. We feel almost like we are traveling to India and sharing this journey of discovery along with the main character. Expert filmmaking also comes in the form of how this movie masterfully weaves multiple stories together. We cut from modern day to the old south to nazi Germany. There is no traditional cutting or transitions between these different places and time periods. However, that is not needed here. In the style of the best visual essay type of films these stories are connected to each other through both emotions and the message, they are trying to convey. Because of this the weaving together of these various times and places works wonderfully. It gives us context that makes everything the film has to say hit closer to home. The movie is also full of very intelligent dialogue that discusses very complex questions (that have no easy answers) in very thought-provoking ways. 

 As brilliant as this movie can be when it is at its best, it falls flat when it tries to be more like a traditional biopic. When the film focuses on the main character's personal life, it can be oddly ineffective. The romance is never fleshed out and we never grow to care about their relationship. Because of this there are some scenes that are supposed to be emotional that simply don't work. Unfortunately, the scenes involving her mother are similarly ineffective. Also while this movie has very intelligent dialogue when discussing complex topics, the dialogue during some everyday conversations can feel a bit awkward. This can make one wish that the film fully committed to the type of visual essay storytelling that it did so brilliantly. 

While this movie can be quite uneven at times, the moments of truly brilliant filmmaking are so great that I can't help but recommend it to any cinephile.