Even among civil rights movies, Blood Done Sign My Name is remarkably earnest, but its big heart can't cover for the bland acting and TV-style melodrama that blunts the movie's impact.
Even among civil rights movies, Blood Done Sign My Name is remarkably earnest, but its big heart can't cover for the bland acting and TV-style melodrama that blunts the movie's impact.
Author Timothy Tyson's acclaimed novel is adapted for the screen in this sweeping civil rights drama from director Jeb Stuart. Set in Oxford, NC, in the 1970s, Blood Done Sign My Name tells the tale of Civil Rights leader Dr. Ben Chavis (Nate Parker), who played a pivotal role in desegregating North Carolina's public school system, and who would go on to become the youngest-ever executive director and CEO of the NAACP. The film centers on the racial tensions that flared after a white father and
son were charged with murdering a black man, and were subsequently acquitted of the crime despite the fact that it took place in full view of the public. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Along the way there are many fine, precisely observed moments showing what race relations were like in this little tobacco town at the turn of the decade.
A bifurcated bio-pic examining the equally emotionally-charged points-of-view of both black and white observers of the fallout of the same ugly incident.
You can't deny the inspirational qualities of the story or Parker's screen presence, any more than you could accuse the film of subtlety or of masking its conspicuous pro-Christian agenda.
If this were a 1970s TV movie, it probably would have won a boatload of Emmys. Now, it lacks impact, although parents or grandparents worried their children don't appreciate the sacrifices of decades past might want to use it as a teaching tool.
If you can get past its moribund title, you'll still have a challenge in spotting the protagonist in this oddly washed-out depiction of a racial battle that raged in Oxford, North Carolina...
I challenge anyone who sincerely believes that The Blind Side is a good film to take a look at this one and see how this kind of story is meant to be told.
The civil rights movement, like the Civil War, is best known for its great battles and great leaders. But there were smaller skirmishes, just as important, and Blood Done Sign My Name tells the story of one.
A sturdy and sensitive drama about the Civil Rights movement in Oxford, North Carolina, in 1970; it rings true and reveals the scourge of American racism in all of its ugly manifestations.
In spite of the material's regional origins, Stuart's movie still feels like a Hollywood vision of the rural South, less syrupy than some but no less vague.
Racism--one of the most dirty words. It has been raising its ugly head since the birth of America. This true story will make you cringe with its relentless brutality, and appalling injustice! This town reacted to the crime this movie is based on by closing in the ranks of the whites, and eventually running their new
pastor out of town. White supremacy died a SLOW death in the deep South.
I thought this was a very good movie, and very informative. I enjoyed it very much, as I learned about another racial injustice that I had not heard of.
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