Dear White People

Some good satirical moments but falls short of being truly great; mostly due to the film being too enamored with its own characters to truly criticize them. As a result, the climatic face-off comes of more as corny than poignant. Still, the best moments are the intimate ones, where it's just two characters letting it go, usually in bed.

Another year, another film about race relations and the need for racial harmony. In the words of Spike Lee: slavery ended one hundred and fifty years ago. Move. The fuck. On.

This film had strong performances all around, but I found Sam and Lionel to certainly be the most affecting. Perhaps what I enjoyed most about this film is that it truly offered no easy answers; instead, it approaches the problems that arise from racism in all their facets (institutional, internalized, or even outright etc.), while dodging any clear, conclusive answer. At its heart, it explores a relationship of power dynamics as historic tools of exclusion and inclusion. Powerful stuff.

Total bait and switch from the trailer. The trailer presents a witty fast paced comedy that deals with modern day racial issues. What the audience is instead given is a slow paced satire that's too dry to foster any laughs. The worst part though, is how painfully stilted the dialogue is. Every line feels like some bullshit racism/social justice monologue that's so contrived it could only take place in one of writer/director Justin Simien's wet dreams.

A searing portrait of our times with innovative direction and excellent performances.

It feels a little reductive to compare this to Do the Right Thing, but they're such similar films in spirit that it's hard not to do so. Both films suggest that everyone is the problem, and both films offer utterly rich portrayals of their environment. But where Do the Right Thing is a raw and rhythmic reflection of its Bed-Stuy neighborhood, Dear White People is all academic finesse perfectly suited to its Ivy League setting.

Tentative score. I'm going to have to watch this again. How was I to know that 2 chains is actually 2 Chainz....I'm white and I keep myself out of the hip hop loop. Best black ensemble cast I can remember (racist!), particularly Tessa and Teyonah. The gay thread was soooooo exemplary of the obligatory crap it was trying so hard to avoid in the rest of the film.

I like my social commentary with humor. This had no humor.

Every single time a person of color is put in front of the camera, the topic of Race is brought up... This film is certainly no exception. Stop instigating, bitching and moaning please. Focus on being a kind human being who contributes positively to society. The past is the past, the present is now. Like Morgan Freeman said, "If you want racism to go away, stop talking about it."

Simien has talent, and has a great ability to write dialogue. Unfortunately, the film is made up of a great many parts, all of which don't work. Once the stereotypes start to break down, and the characters are revealed, the film becomes much better. The film refreshingly deals with sexuality and gender (as well as race, but that should be apparent) in a more nuanced way. I'd really like to see Simien's second film.

Such a metodic and classy take on race that dares -- oh -- to be funny! Like a Spike Lee-meets-Wes Anderson narrative that has a 70s look and an arresting combination of rage and brightness.

Everyone is comparing this to early Spike Lee and for good reason. It has a cast of colourful characters, restless visual style and a willingness to confront racial issues with incredible directness and timeliness. Cinema is in dire need of stylish, provocative satire like this, and although the film is guilty of some rookie mistakes I'm looking forward to whatever Justin Simien does in the future.

Funny, stylish (very Wes Anderson-y) and thought-provoking little film that deals with issues of modern racism and - to some extent - homophobia. It's fun to watch, very eye-pleasing, and unless I misinterpreted what it was trying to say, bright movie. I think the idea is that people are trying too hard to belong to some group, adopting ideas they don't even believe in to begin with. Black people like Ingmar Bergman and Taylor Swift, white people like Spike Lee and Kanye West, time to chill.

Stylish and immediately reminds you of Wes Anderson; writing could be a bit better, but it was okay. I like the characters overall, so it works for me because of that actually. And don't forget Sam's hair.

Searing satire of racial tensions on a fictitious Ivy League campus, where everyone has a stance, a label, a place where they supposedly belong--regardless of what they actually want. Strikingly staged in precise, often stifling tableaux which reflect the characters' profound discomfort, it's a painful portrait of a world where change is as necessary as ever, but what must change and how is increasingly unclear. Excellent acting across the board; a most promising debut for Justin Simien.

It's provocative, it's controversial and it is one hell of a debut film that captures the essence of our modern society. Justin Simien creates characters that face real life pressures every time they walk around the campus. The face racial issues, prejudice and the pressures of having to live up to certain predetermined notions. This is a film about real people, struggling to do the right things, say the right words and live according to the right actions. A definite must see.

It's like if Spike Lee and John Singleton had a baby named Wes Anderson, and that baby time traveled from the summer of 1989 to 2014, to make a self-important film whose attempts at subversion instead play as a staid and disjointed sermon. Of course there are still issues of race in the U.S. (as demonstrated by recent police activity and the real-life incident this film is loosely based on), but as a society I feel we are about 25 years past where this film thinks we are.

A great satirical social commentary, which feels way too relevant. The film raises several questions, but doesn't necessarily place the blame on any one group, but tries to show an overall view of things. I liked that it didn't have to resort to violence to get the point across.

Definitely directed toward a white audience given its Racism 101 stance. There was some interesting ideas regarding the construction of black identity with Troy's character but it was only hinted toward. Disliked the Sam's arc super strongly. But all of that aside (can you tell I had high expectations?) its refreshing to watch a movie about black kids that isnt like poverty porn.

Really uneven.

All the little nuances of racial tension in America are presented along with all the different tropes that play their part. Simien did a great job covering all the bases and his message stays strong until the end. I'm almost a little afraid to critique what I didn't like about the film which is mostly the fact that I didn't think it was a very good movie. Simien's awareness to this by making Sam's first review echo this sentiment plays right into the wittiness of his writing capability.

It tackles its subject matter with some finesse, examining race relations with a fairly even approach. There are a bunch of different perspectives, which is nice, and through the good performances we got to see them fleshed out a fair bit. My knock on it, and what prevents it from being great, is that there are times that it's clearly attempting humour but can't usually get there. Good premise, and the execution as a drama was admirable, but it's not overly funny.

It recognizes the powerful conflict between people's true self against the image they project through a racial lens, but not focused enough on that theme to keep the storyline from bouncing through diversions or irrelevant patches. The characterization is there but the dialogue doesn't feel natural. A promising debut in all.

Would love to see what they could've done with a professional crew.

DWP is dated, feeble, unfocused and super-incrowdey. It's about four beautiful people who can afford to study at a fancy university dealing with (mostly) microaggressions. None of these characters are developed much, except maybe for Sam. I also got the idea they played it too safe, although apparently this was provocative in the US in 2014. It lacks oomph. It lacks depth. It lacks something to really root for. Even the climax just kinda fizzles out. Heck, it isn't even funny at any point. Meh.

This movie is good, smart and funny. Crackerjack dynamite! (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

This is the film that introduced me to Tessa Thompson and I will always be grateful for that. Plus, it's a good film.

D+

The TV show is much better but this still makes the point it's trying to. Dialogue is a little hammy but that's it's purpose. It's sorta tryin to be a degrassi kind of thing.

At times it stretches credulity, and then you find out that stuff like this actually happens. It goes from hilarious to shocking and back to hilarious again, then shocking again, and then quite touching, and ends on hilarious. I LOVED it.

This film is an interesting one. Race is at its epicentre, but it avoids becoming too preachy (for the most part). Its portrayal of black students make them seem as insular as their white counterparts, if not more so. None of the characters are truly likeable, but some of them are well-formed, particularly Lionel (Williams) and Sam (Thompson), whose performances are great and are responsible for the better, smarter moments. Overall rather slow, but there are moments that make it worthwhile.

The conceit was a clever way to approach the issue in a nuanced way. Provocative in the good sense of the term--makes you think about things from a varying perspectives and (mostly) gives each perspective a fair shake. But this was also dragged down by a lot of failed attempts at humor and some poor acting (but the two female leads were both great).

Pretty darn funny and really well done.

College campuses like Winchester are supposed to be places where students can grapple with big ideas and wrestle with discomforting problems. But God and His biggest ideas aren't much welcome at this school, it would seem. His thoughts never come up. (pluggedin.com)

I knew about this movie after the series and I have to say the movie is sort of obsolete now. Everything here is made better in the series while sharing director, writer, even some actors... The team has certainly improved and the choral format works better as a series than a movie. If you watched the movie first and didn't specially like it, give the series a chance.

A character-driven show that seems unfortunately reluctant to delve too deeply into its numerous, interesting characters. A bit of a shame, but not uncommon, I suppose. Interesting social commentary, and a few pretty good jokes, though.

Loved it. Tessa Thompson is luminous and great in everything. The thing is even though the film has the name it has, it's not about white people at all. It's more about there being different types of black experience and how that intersects with the construct of race in our world. Plus, it's super funny, too.

Rassismus, Sex zwischen Schwarz und Weiss und Klassenkampf, das sind die Zutaten dieser cleveren und eleganten Campus Komödie. Endlich bekommen wir Antworten auf so wichtige Fragen wie: Warum sehen wir Schwarze im Kino immer nur elend und traurig? ... mehr auf cinegeek.de

I saw the show spin off before this but it still works as a prequel to that. Possibly loses a bit watching it that way as you are already familiar with the leads, so do it the other way around if you are still fresh.

25 years after Spike Lee directed Do The Right Thing, this movie is actually doing the right thing in a well-acted, well-directed, and well-written African-American comedy that we desperately needed, especially in the Obama age.

About as promising as debut features get. Looks to be aimless and esoteric for at least the first half hour, but that Altman reference isn't for nothing: eventually it develops into a daunting ensemble film with a complex story, nuanced politics, and an array of characters that are introduced as easily digestible "types" before deepening almost as if defying the film's preordained role for them.

This film has a really interesting and smart script. The casting is well done for this film, a lot of the actors I did not recognize but there are several that give good performances. Overall I would recommend this film.

"It's a little self-congratulatory. Light on story. Frankly, thematically dubious."

If they made this 4 years later, Tessa Thompson would've been irreplaceable. But instead she's got the acting chops of a rubber boot

Somewhat interesting, and generally amusing - not as good as I thought it would be going in, unfortunately.

Perhaps if I was American or black this would be more meaningful. As it is I can appreciate it more than I enjoy it - it is well written and directed without a doubt but culturally I'm lacking something to appreciate its finer points

Sharp, witty, and knowing when to wink at the audience and go "Oh, you think it's that simple, huh?" Lacks some cohesiveness, but that's almost a feature rather than a bug for a movie like this.

"Dear White People" only scratches the surface of contemporary race relations in America, but there are enough laughs and it at least tries to tackle enough themes to introduce many to the ongoing conversation.