The Great Debaters | Rotten Tomatoes

Actors-turned-directors have an informed perspective that often lends itself to their crafting either indulgent performance pieces (Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard, Luke Wilson’s The Wendell Baker Story) or stylized story-driven vehicles (Warren Beatty’s Reds, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven). Thankfully, for the sake of great filmmaking, Denzel Washington falls into this latter category, giving audiences one of the year’s most brilliant and sympathetic dramas. Building upon the promise of his excellent Antwone Fisher, Washington gives audiences a beautifully drawn period piece with his sophomore effort—and yes, it just happens to be perfectly cast and played. In this PG-13-rated Washington-directed drama, a professor at a small African-American college (Washington) uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students into a debate team. So thought-out are Washington’s aesthetics that Depression-era Texas seems to sprawl out, with all of it’s dusty whiskey tint, right at the audience’s fingertips in stunning and impeccably captured natural hues. The performances match the visuals in a synergetic tête-à-tête that awesomely brings to life the time and the place. This investment in the here and now, of course, makes the subject matter all the more tangible and timely—regardless of how ugly it becomes. Washington and Whitaker both invest a decent amount of time upon this canvas but only once do they share the same frame, rendering a one-two acting school knock-out worthy of DeNiro and Pacino’s classic Heat match-up. The final show-stopping piece gives rise to one of the most rousing audience pleasing moments in recent screen history. Bottom line: No debate here—-just good cinema.