Passing - Ruth Negga & Rebecca Hall on their personal connection to the story & relatable themes

Ruth Negga & Rebecca Hall are interviewed by Stefan Pape for Passing, Rebecca Hall's directorial debut for Netflix. Adapted from the novella by Nella Larsen, the film stars Ruth Negga, Tessa Thompson, Andre Holland, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Alexander Skarsgard and Ashley Ware Jenkins.

Plot: "Passing" follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.

Passing will be released on Netflix on the 10th of November, 2021.

#Passing #Netflix #RuthNegga #Rebecca Hall
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[mac]

Rebecca Hall is right. At some point in our lives, we try to pass for something. The thing is when you get older and gain experience and figure out who you are, passing to be accepted becomes less important.

[Belfastboi]

Rebecca’s hair is glorious. Two incredible women and I’m always interested to see what they are both up to. Creative and stunning 🤩

[Littlething]

"Belonging" should be the title of Rebecca's next film using the same exact cast. I love that Ruth is Ethiopian and Irish with a beautiful Irish accent because that reality and dynamic of who is really "Irish" in Ireland is a trip!

[theorderofthebees]

Nella Larsen Book is a masterpiece, the themes of passing for straight, race, inter weaving that into everything ! So wonderfully written the erotic tones throughout the book was a shock and daring for me - it was written in 1929

[jooooaaaannnn_]

From a good distance away, Ruth looks like FKA Twigs like they could be sisters

[CindymeCindy]

This movie was so delicious! There's hardly ever any 1920's films except for odd shoot-em ups like Bonnie and Clyde type shows. To see actual living in a 1920's time period was so fun! Also, the black and white filming and all the juxtapositions of black and white made it all the more enjoyable. I loved the winter New York street that had black trees on one side and white trees on the other.

[Blackdove]

If you passing your not free to be yourself.

[veronicawelsh]

A staggeringly beautiful film in all ways. Best film for a while.

[wrendor]

This movie is everything in every way for so many reasons!!!

[christophergregory]

Most black people who were that light back then married very dark men. While there was many who passed often than not that they did.
I also believe those black people Clare was around while w/ Irene & Brian knew she was black & passing. Like Irene’s character said, it’s something another black person can just feel or see.
It’s a shame that neither races wanted to accept bi-racial people as their genuine selves. It’s still very much prevalent in the 21st century!

[ninasamone]

Heyyyy youuu guyyysss! That’s from the “Electric Company.” Rita Moreno use to say it. 😁

[vivimo]

Even though Ruth doesn’t look “white”… passing during those times had much more to do with having very very light skin rather than ethnic features (nose, and lips).

[emileconstance]

I thought the film started out very promising--loved the stylized, B&W look, the music, the acting, but I thought the story was a little thin. Wish it had gone a bit deeper. Anyway, I think it was her directorial debut, so I expect she'll likely develop as a filmmaker--this film showed great promise; also, it may be that the novella was not ideal for a feature-length film, and that's why it felt a bit underdeveloped to me.

[superamanda]

Irene was supposed to look like Halsey or Rashida Jones...COMPLETELY white passing. Her friend was supposed to be like Doja Cat or Kat Graham. The film lost the original intention of Nella Larsen’s book who herself was almost all Danish.

[nicolebrown]

I could always tell that Rebecca Hall had black in her. It makes me love her more because she's not ashamed to talk about it. I sense a pride in her that she has some of our blood running through her veins.💙☺

[LeeBeeDeeTree]

I know that both Tessa and Ruth are biracial. I know that in real life there is no one way that black/white biracial people should or do look. But for purposes of the movie, I think that perhaps they should have hired an actress who looks unambiguously white. The whole story rests on a person who is legally classified as black, being able to "pass" for white, no questions asked. If Ruth Negga was seen walking down the street, most people would assume that she was mixed race or a light skinned black woman. I don't think most people would think she was a white woman, even if she was wearing a blond wig.

Same is true of Tessa Thompson. In fact, I'm sure that most African Americans have relatives or know of someone who identifies as black who could much more easily "pass" as white, than either of these women.

This is ONE instance where actual racial identification doesn't serve the story. This is NOT an attack on the talent of either actress. It's just that I think Rebecca Hall herself might have been the more logical choice for the role.

[jc]

I loved Ruth in Breakfast On Pluto <3

[lisabullock]

Really enjoyed the movie. My favorite movie is Imitation of life, I was looking forward to seeing this.

[ninasamone]

Definitely need to check out this film.

[e.diamond]

I LOVE Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson. But I do not want to see this movie. Respectfully, I think it should have been made by someone who identifies as Black, or by someone who understands this particular phenomenon of Black passing for White in the US. This was very common for many years in many, many African American families. It was very common for African descendant people who phenotypically look European to "pass" and neglect their identity, their heirtage, and their family connections. This filmmaker just admitted to not understanding why one would choose to "pass" like her grandfather did, which is a position of privilege that comes from her grandfather's choice to pass. Ruth Negga (love her) admitted to not understanding that either. And Tessa Thompson (love her) is Black and Hispanic. I think it really dishonors a huge piece of the Black American experience by making a film when you do not even understand the subject matter. It makes me angry. Respectfully. Other films like Immitation of Life, Queen, or even that film with Anthony Hopkins where he plays a Black man passing for White seems to pin point the authentic complexity of this American experience of racial identity crisis.