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Starring:
Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Jurnee Smollett, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams, Nate Parker, Russell Woron-Simons, Roger Dillingham Jr., J.D. Evermore, Tim Parati, Damien Leake, Chuck Vail, Ritchie Montgomery, Eric Kelly McFarland, Steve Flynn, Robert X. Golphin, Alan Resnic, Sean Paul Cormier, Michael Kelly, George Wilson, Bonnie Johnson, Christopher Tranchina, Heath Stewart, Brian D. Evans, James Granville, Breon Pugh, Terry Milam, Robert Malitsky, Kelvin Payton, Emily Griffin, Giovanni Pantaleo, Joel B. Hayden, Robert Masiello, Michael Beasley, Devyn A. Tyler, Denzel Whitaker, Misty Lockheart, Marcus Lyle Brown, Voltaire Rico Sterling, Todd Poudrier, Jackson Walker, Cory Patt, Josh McBride, Charissa Allen, Antravian D. Carter, Devyn A. Tyler, Stephen Rider, Brad Watkins, Samuel Elliott Whisnant, Ryan Shibley, Andrew Bamberg, Aqua Lee, Southey Blanton, Ron Auguste, Frank Ridley
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The Great Debaters (2007)
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Movie Review by Zara 
May 15th, 2008
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What I think most people are going to overlook when they watch this movie is that Denzel Washington isn't just acting in it, he directed it as well. And as a director he does a solid, dependable job. A little on the dry side (perhaps to secure a PG-13 rating and give the film a chance to reach more people, it was a sacrifice that was worthy of being made) with the story and at times slightly (but JUST slightly) meandering from its original topic, that of an all black college debate team being the first in American history to debate against ANY white college, but also the (previous) best: Harvard.
Washington, while performing well as a director, seems to dial in his acting performance for portions of the flick. He's never a bad actor, and there ARE moments that shine of original brilliance (speaking about the history of where the term "lynch" came from is a good one), but other times when the story starts to divert to the teacher's efforts to unionize the farmers in Texas, he pulls back and relies on the talent that he has. In other words, he does effortless easy and unfortunately the effortlessness of those portions are not as good as other times I've seen him.
I liked watching this movie with my daughter, a first grader who not too long ago was being taught for the first time about Martin Luther King Jr and had heard vague details (they can't really get THAT deep in 1st grade) about slavery and segregation. She was eager to watch the movie and sat through all 2 hours and 4 minutes worth, concentrating hard.
The young cast in this film is what holds you to it (and especially my daughter, who was moved by the young actor playing James Farmer Jr, who oddly enough is named Denzel Whitaker, named after Denzel but NOT the son of Forest Whitaker who plays James Farmer Sr in the movie) and makes it worth the lesson of civil disobedience. And if for nothing else, watch the movie for Jurnee Smollett, the young actress who plays Samantha Booke. I'd be willing to bet that if she plays her cards just right, she'll be the "next Halle Berry."
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