Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and directed by George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Rustin is a gripping insight into a chapter of American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Co-written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black (Milk), the biopic focuses on Rustin’s ideation of a protest for civil and economic rights of African Americans in 1963, which became known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march, which brought close to 250,000 people together in solidarity, has become universally recognized as one of the largest rallies for human and civil rights in United States history, and was also the forum for Dr Martin Luther King Junior’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech.
With history devoting much of the focus of the march on Dr King, in more recent times, it has been accepted and acknowledged Rustin had a pivotal role in organising the rally. This culminated in President Obama conferring on Rustin a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 while commemorating the 50th anniversary of the march.
The film stars Colman Domingo (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; If Beale Street Could Talk) as Rustin who embraces the role with soulful passion and fervour. Rightly gaining numerous accolades on the awards circuit for his performance, Domingo seems born to play the role, easily commanding focus in every scene he appears. This is despite a massive yet strong ensemble cast of both veterans and novices. It serves to mention writers Breece and Black provide plenty of opportunities in their screenplay for key cast members to have their moment, yet ensuring Domingo’s Rustin is given the limelight as the film’s titular character.
Rustin’s passion for the cause and his struggle to convince key participants to embrace his proposal of the march is powerfully brought to the screen by Domingo. Some poetic licence has been adopted in the film, such as the characterisation of some of the personalities in Rustin – namely Tom (played by Gus Halper) and Elias (played by Johnny Ramey), and in the numerous meetings which occurred behind closed doors. But Rustin’s brash and assertive personality coupled with his emotional demons and fragility are entirely accurate and make for an engrossing tale – providing the requisite drama and connection to keep audiences glued to the screen.
It is worth noting the film’s production values and in particular the set designs, costumes and make up. Together they beautifully transport the audience to the time and place most audiences will not relate to but be captivated by. It is manifestly clear much thought has gone into these production elements, which not only elevates the film’s integrity, but enriches the audience’s experience and appreciation of a subject matter demanding greater attention.
One gets the sense there was a large team working together as producers, director, writers, cast and crew to bring Rustin to the screen. Indeed, the credits support such a conclusion. But ironically, the sum of all these multi-layered attributes and contributions from the cast and crew is a simple one: they do a darn good job at correcting history’s focus from personalities at the famous march who were more recognised, to one none more larger than life than Bayard Rustin.