There’s a lot to like about Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Caste, weaving in the real-life strife experienced by writer Isabel Wilkerson and pointing out how connected human oppression really is…the style and construction of the journey however complicates an already dense message.
Origin
Directed by Ava DuVernay
Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash
Runtime: 2 hours, 21 mins
Synopsis
Successful writer Isabel Wilkerson (Ellis-Taylor), after the acclaim of her first book, is reluctant to take on a new piece suggested by her editor Amari (Blair Underwood), covering the underlying dynamics that led to Trayvon Martin’s death. However, after she experiences great personal losses of her own, Wilkerson will navigate her grief and travel the globe to connect the experience of oppressed groups into a singular issue: the issue of caste.
Frustrating Opening
It takes a considerable, painful amount of time for this film to get into gear or find the groove that it eventually settles into. Partially, it works as a reflection of Wilkerson’s mental state as she loses so many close loved ones in a short period of time. But there are simply too many scenes that don’t impact or create the effect that DuVernay likely intended that clunk up the beginning of this film. I hate to say that once the the grief starts, the story picks up – but there is an unfortunate, remarkable difference in the way the narrative moves and/or finds direction once Wilkerson loses her mother and husband. She’s a character that is sort of stuck in neutral until her loss finally shakes her out of it. Some audience members will likely resonate with that, but for a vast majority, the editing and screenplay choices are going to take many out of the experience.
Credit: Neon
The screenplay also fails to craft Wilkerson’s journey organically as she’s traveling and learning about different marginalized groups. The script already knows the answer to Wilkerson’s journey and feels the need to tease or hint that answer to the audience. But that doesn’t feel organic, at least not immediately. When Wilkerson travels to Germany, she has a painfully awkward conversation with some fellow scholars over dinner (featuring Connie Nielsen in a brief moment). While the scene does convey that her thoughts aren’t completely put together yet, it feels like the script wants us to agree with Wilkerson when we don’t even understand the premise clearly. To the film’s credit, it’s the follow-up to this scene where the film finally cements the idea and we have a much easier time understanding the goal afterwards. All of her subsequent trips, flashbacks, and side stories / interviews connect much better after this point. This could also be a fault of the editing: there are scenes woven into the first act that might have resonated better if they occurred solely after the key conversation in Germany. By that point, the audience has a much clearer understanding of what Wilkerson’s premise is, and the subsequent conversations can now tie into that understanding, rather than the early confusion we’ve subjected to.
Frustrating Closeups
As of writing, I haven’t been able to re-watch a previous DuVernay or cinematographer Matthew J. Floyd film to see if this is something they regularly do, but from my vague memory of Selma (2014) and When They See Us (2019), I can’t recall such extreme closeups that the subject’s head was cut off. I did consider asking the Alamo staff where I viewed the movie if something was off, but there weren’t any clear signs that the frame was that far off so it felt like an intentional choice.
When it comes to framing a shot, there’s a variety of different rules and trends you can follow that generally lead to success. To be clear, any creator is welcome to break them (that’s how we get new and interesting framing ideas), however that’s provided you understand the effect such a change will create on the narrative and on your audience. For example, one of my favorite framing devices is being off-center. Sam Esmail used this a ton in the USA Network series Mr. Robot (2015-2019) and it showed up again in his recent Netflix film Leave The World Behind (2023) starring Mahershala Ali and Julia Roberts. When you’re used to seeing the frame’s subject lined up in the center of the screen, having them off-kilter, or in the bottom left or right corners / halves of a frame can create an intentional disconnect, to show the audience that this conversation is odd or weird or make you uncomfortable. Sometimes it can also help you understand how people are related to one another spatially, so a classic diner scene may utilize this so your brain understands how the people are situated as the shots bounce back and forth characters.
Credit: Neon
That’s not what happens with Origin; we’re unfortunately treated to a bunch of closeup shots and shot / reverse shots over and over again, coupled with character’s heads being partially cut from the frame. There’s a few great moments between Ellis-Taylor and Bernthal that made me want to pull my hair out because they were having intense, passionate moments together that was being actively ruined by poor framing choices.
Frustrating, But It Still Works
Even with those issues, once the movie gets to Wilkerson’s journeys abroad and her thesis on caste is better explained, the movie instantly finds a home. The experiential method that DuVernay is going for works much better in these scenes and as an audience member, you’re able to put together the ideas of the theme along side Wilkerson as her book takes shape. For the sake of argument, if the early issues were intentional, then those moments felt like an unsure writer (Wilkerson) that’s blocked and can’t articulate their feeling. Whereas the later scenes really convey a writer that’s in a flow state and the words are just writing themselves. As a fellow writer, I can connect to that idea quite a bit; when everything clicks, the writing process is just simpler, it feels organic, it doesn’t feel forced.
Credit: Neon
I must also applaud DuVernay and crew for adapting something that wasn’t a straightforward narrative. They crafted the issue of caste into something comprehensible and into a form that numerous people can easily digest. Though to be clear, digesting this film isn’t without its emotionally gut wrenching moments. DuVernay includes a reenactment of the Trayvon Martin murder and it serves as a powerful key moment, connecting the different stories and flashbacks that we will eventually see. I also see the power in this scene, especially for those in the audience who hadn’t read Wilkerson’s book, to make us think about race first…before the case for caste systems are laid out. It roots the audience into an incident that many of us are all too familiar with and primes us for one expectation.
Credit: Neon
It’s a smart decision that pays dividends later when we see scenes with husband and wife duo Allison and Elizabeth Davis (played by Isha Blaaker and Jasmine Cephas Jones) as they conduct their research in the American south. They experience racially-driven conflict that’s been depicted on screen for many generations, but this also serves to reinforce the misconception of race being the driving factor which Wilkerson is pushing back against. This allows DuVernay to play into expectations and cinema language to get us thinking about race, before we see people of different backgrounds experience the exact same oppression from people that look just like them. While we aren’t beaten over the head with this realization, it’s a well-connected line visually and narratively that all starts with that initial scene with Trayvon.
Conclusion / Recommendation
While there are some framing choices and devices that don’t work for me personally, the merits of Wilkerson’s ideas and research on the issue of caste still shine through. Bolstered by strong performances from Ellis-Taylor and Bernthal, Origin will resonate and challenge how we normally digest heavy topics.
Origin is definitely worth a cinema watch due to its more fantastical scenes and elements, so highly recommend catching this one in theaters. Additionally, if you’re going with a friend or a group, director Ava DuVernay shot a short interview clip for the audiences that airs after the credits so make sure to stick around for that conversation starter.
Score: 7 out of 10
- Cinematography- 6
- DuVernay and cinematographer Matthew J. Floyd make some frustrating, tight close-up choices and if you prefer seeing a person’s face intact and not cut off, it’s likely to annoy you. That aside, there are some fantastic scenes with Ellis-Taylor that are a bit fantastical – blurring the line between reality, her dreams, and memory that work really well.
- Writing / Editing- 7
- I’m putting these together because it’s hard to determine if the first act of the movie is disjointed as a result of its editing or that it was written that poorly. We move through elements of Wilkerson’s life as she’s attempting to develop her thesis and these scenes are rather stiff. It’s not until Wilkerson’s tragic story really begins to unfold that we’re actually able to see Ellis-Taylor, Nash, and Bernthal start to sink their teeth into the screenplay. If you’re patient, there are fantastic thoughts and ideas on the other side, but it takes too long for the film to settle down into a groove, especially once Ellis-Taylor takes center stage.
- Enjoyment- 8
- So cinematography and writing/editing issues aside, the first act at least keeps you interested due to Ellis-Taylor and Bernthal’s chemistry and the kickstart of the second act where we see Wilkerson’s thesis start to develop. You will likely find yourself much more invested by the end of the first act / start of the second as Wilkerson begins her travels and starts conversations around the globe regarding the issue of caste.
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