Passing Movie Storyline. Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson), a refined, upper-class 1920s woman, finds breezy refuge from a hot summer day in the grand tearoom of New York City’s Drayton Hotel. Across the room, she spots a blond woman staring her down. Irene wants to steal away, but before she can, Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga) rushes over to stop her. It turns out the two were in high school together, and while both are African American women who can “pass” as white, they have chosen to live on opposite sides of the color line. Now, their renewed acquaintance threatens them both.
Passing is an elegant psychological thriller about obsession, repression, and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities. In her debut feature, Rebecca Hall uses creamy, mesmerizing black-and-white cinematography and a deft directorial restraint to adapt Nella Larsen’s acclaimed 1929 Harlem Renaissance novel into an affecting experiential insight into the pursuit of happiness and authenticity by those navigating the grinding tensions of American racism.
Passing is a 2021 black-and-white drama film written, directed, and produced by Rebecca Hall in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen. The title refers to African-Americans pretending to be white, the practice of passing. The film stars Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, and Bill Camp.
It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021. It is scheduled to be released in a limited release on October 27, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 10, 2021.
Passing (2021)
Directed by: Rebecca Hall
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp, Ashley Ware Jenkins, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Amber Pickens, Tatiana Marie Barber
Screenplay by: Rebecca Hall
Production Design by: Nora Mendis
Cinematography by: Eduard Grau
Film Editing by: Sabine Hoffman
Costume Design by: Marci Rodgers
Set Decoration by: Paige Mitchell, Madeline Rocco
Art Direction by: Kristina Porter
Music by: Devonté Hynes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, some racial slurs and smoking.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: January 30, 2021 (Sundance), October 27, 2021 (United States)
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