Strong Delivery From 'Great Debaters'

By Michelle D. Anderson
Black College Wire

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Already a winner of the National Board of Review's "Freedom of Expression Award" and a nominee for the Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture-Drama," this film delivers.

Based on real events involving Wiley College, a historically black school in Marshall, Texas, "Debaters" shows how one educator, in this case professor Melvin B. Tolson (Washington), inspires students and leads them to self-actualization.

After holding auditions and confronting Wiley's most audacious students, Tolson forms a promising team consisting of Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams), Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), aspiring lawyer and the first woman member Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), and the team's researcher and youngest member James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker).

Screenwriter Robert Eisele establishes Tolson's demanding presence and impact on the students in one of the beginning scenes as Tolson recites lines from "I Too, Sing America," a well-known poem by Renaissance writer Langston Hughes. This scene hints to the films most prominent themes of evoking the power of the written and spoken word.

After a long string of undefeated debates against other black colleges such as Fisk University, the team goes on to challenge all white institutions, and ultimately the prestigious Harvard University, although in real life the team actually challenged the University of Southern California (USC).

As the film goes on, Hamilton leaves the team fearing for his safety after Tolson's rebellious and controversial involvements lead the professor into legal trouble and more racial tension in the small town. Hamilton's departure leaves Smollett, Parker and Whitaker to carry the rest of the film through their passionate portrayals of the Wiley College debaters.

The most poignant scenes of the film center around the blatant and ugliest acts of racism which later serve as the inspiration for the argument in the final debate against Harvard. Forest Whitaker (no relation to Denzel Whitaker) contributes a strong portrayal as Farmer Jr.'s father and a Wiley College professor.

While some critics may note Parker as the leading performer, others will look to Smollett -- both actors give equally great performances and steal the film in their own right. Parker shows promise as an emerging actor, while Smollett shows not only her growth since her first major film, Eve's Bayou, but her ability to understand the depth of her role.

Smollett proved her mature acting prowess in the similar, made-for-television film Selma, Lord, Selma, a narrative about 11-year-old Sheyann Webb, who marches from Selma, Ala. to Montgomery, Ala. with Martin Luther King, Jr., during a notable event known as "Bloody Sunday."

Washington also displays his directing skills as he did in his directorial debut, Antwone Fisher (2002). The Academy Award winning actor's strongest skill as a director lies in his insightful interpretation of the narrative and his ability to play double duty as director and actor.

From the opening scene in a juke joint, the bluesy music accentuates and draws the readers into the southern, Great Depression -era backdrop and complements the film rather than overpowering it. The film also carries enough humorous and witty moments to contrast the grim topics embedded in this narrative -- racial segregation, lynching and economic injustice.

As good as "Debaters" is, it has some predictable moments, but not to the extent that is becomes overwhelmingly cliché. While many films based on historic events make the common fallacy of including gratuitous fictional plot, "Debaters" does not stray from its message despite fictional elements such as the romantic relationship between Booke and Lowe or that fact that Booke's character was inspired by Henrietta Bell, who was not a member of the award-winning debate team but was its first female member. The lead actors do a great job of capturing the "aura of personality" of figures such as Bell and Farmer.

By showing the triumphs of Wiley College students, the film affirms the role of education in advancing the progress of black people. Lastly, it provides an example for black youth to become leaders, as these young debaters did in their adult lives. Grade: A-.

Michelle D. Anderson, a student at Spelman College, writes for the Morehouse College Maroon Tiger.

Posted Dec. 27, 2007