Time: 106 Minutes
Age Rating: 13 – Violence
Cast:
Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin
Aml Ameen as Martin Luther King Jr.
Glynn Turman as A. Philip Randolph
Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins
Audra McDonald as Ella Baker
Jeffrey Wright as Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Director: George C. Wolfe

I was mainly interested in watching this movie after hearing about the awards attention it was receiving, mainly for lead actor Dolman Domingo. I just knew that the movie was about Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s advisor, who helped organise the 1964 Civil Rights March. Overall, the movie was pretty good, but was definitely a generic historical biopic.

I hadn’t previously heard about Bayard Rustin, so learning about him was interesting and that alone kept me invested in the movie from beginning to end. Unfortunately, Rustin falls into so many historical biopic failings. It’s very generic, safe and run of the mill; it is clearly constrained by the limitations of the formula, and it doesn’t do anything special. Much of the film consists of scenes of people talking and planning, and while there are plenty of movies that also fit this category while being compelling and creative, Rustin is pretty dry. The conclusion of the Civil Rights March was underwhelming, and it ends pretty abruptly. The movie is a bit short at 106 minutes, and it really could’ve been a little longer. That said, I wasn’t bored, and the movie does move at a good pace.

Colman Domingo is great as Bayard Rustin, if nothing else, the movie is worth watching for his performance alone. Generally, the rest of the cast are good too, though I think that Chris Rock was a little out of place.

This movie is helmed by George C. Wolfe, who previously made Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. On a technical level, it is just fine, not much of the craft stands out and there’s very little flair here.

Rustin is a standard and conventional, but decent biopic, and is elevated by an amazing lead performance from Colman Domingo. It could’ve been better for sure, but it was interesting learning about Bayard Rustin, and the acting made it worth it.