Rustin is the story of a passionate and monumentally impactful civil rights leader. In the 1960s, racial equality was the major issue on the minds of many Americans. Fronting the charge is Bayard Rustin (Coleman Domingo), a charismatic activist who befriends and promotes up-and-comer Martin Luther King (Aml Ameen). After ups and downs, Rustin comes up with his best idea yet: the largest peaceful protest in U.S. history. Unfortunately for Rustin, his sexual orientation marks him a liability in the minds of misguided individuals around him, many of whom should be his allies. Rustin quickly learns that if he’s going to pull his vision off, he’s going to have to battle both racism and bigotry using his secret weapons: wit and love.
What works in Rustin is the fabulous performance by Domingo and the incredibly sharp script from Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black (Milk, Under the Banner of Heaven). Domingo is electric as Rustin, adeptly demonstrating the man’s intelligence, compassion, humor, flaws, and warmth. His contributions to the Civil Rights Movement have faded slightly into history given Rustin’s own discomfort with the public spotlight. So, with Rustin audiences are given the opportunity to appreciate just how important Bayard was in charting a better course for blacks in America. Furthermore, Rustin focuses quite a bit on just how complicated pulling off the March on Washington was in 1963. Given a myriad of factors at the time, it’s remarkable that the event ever happened. As such, Rustin does an excellent job of celebrating its achievement given the surrounding culture of hate and prejudice.
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People who don’t enjoy historical dramas, or films about civil equality, may not enjoy Rustin as much as others. Biographies are a tricky genre. If they attempt to capture the entirety of someone’s life, they inevitably either a) run too long, b) subjectively omit key moments of their lives, or c) both. The alternative—which director George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) employs here—is to focus on a smaller era of time that defined a person. In Rustin, it is his involvement in the March of Washington and not much else before or after that event. Given the narrow time band, some audiences may crave more details about Rustin’s life beyond that signature achievement.
Rustin is a fantastic film. It brings a man somewhat forgotten to time his due, thanks to incredible work from Domingo and a talented team behind the camera. Everyone is having a little fun with their history lesson while never diminishing its importance. For these reasons, Rustin comes with the highest recommendation.
Recommended if you Enjoyed: Milk, Judas and the Black Messiah
Rustin is now available to stream on Netflix.
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