I'm European-American male, 56 y.o. I saw it at the Towson Commons mulitplex in Towson, MD. I didn't notice as I came in to the auditorium, but started getting an idea of the "demographic" of the audience as people started talking to the screen! :o) And they were doin' some talking!! :o) As I watched the film, it was hard not to be conscious of the "color" ("all of us are colored, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see us") of my fellow audience members, because there were lots of moments that I found uncomfortable. There is a beautiful balance of portrayal of racism here, maybe a little exaggerated from the POV of African-Americans, I'm not sure, but I think realistically portrayed. The disadvantage that Afr-Ams constantly experience (Chris Rock: "How many white people would trade places with me? And I'm rich!") due to Eur-Am racism is, I think, very well portrayed -- you really hated that guy, but you could see it happening every day, everywhere. On the other side, the racist behavior and arrogance of the Afr-Am characters towards the Eur-Am male protagonist was disturbing and disheartening, and seemed realistic.
I plan to go again, and hope I'm again in the minority, in terms of "race" (of course, there's only one race, right, the human race? for better or worse!) because I want to listen again to the audience reaction (usually I like to listen to the *score* the second time I see a film).
One of the delightful things about the film is during an argument the couple have in a drugstore. They're having a public argument about "race" as they walk through a drugstore, and they get various reactions from their fellow shoppers - very funny and enjoyable -- although the set piece itself is not light-hearted, it is sprinkled with sly humor in the form of the reactions of the folks around them as they fight. That little 5-minute piece alone was worth the price of admission, in my view. Very beautifully written and directed.
As is the whole film.
I thought it did a great job of bringing the audience into the upper middle class African-American culture. I loved the way it presented a balanced view of racism in the U.S. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope a lot of people see it -- I think it contributes a very great deal to the discussion of "race" in the United States.
I plan to go again, and hope I'm again in the minority, in terms of "race" (of course, there's only one race, right, the human race? for better or worse!) because I want to listen again to the audience reaction (usually I like to listen to the *score* the second time I see a film).
One of the delightful things about the film is during an argument the couple have in a drugstore. They're having a public argument about "race" as they walk through a drugstore, and they get various reactions from their fellow shoppers - very funny and enjoyable -- although the set piece itself is not light-hearted, it is sprinkled with sly humor in the form of the reactions of the folks around them as they fight. That little 5-minute piece alone was worth the price of admission, in my view. Very beautifully written and directed.
As is the whole film.
I thought it did a great job of bringing the audience into the upper middle class African-American culture. I loved the way it presented a balanced view of racism in the U.S. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope a lot of people see it -- I think it contributes a very great deal to the discussion of "race" in the United States.