5/5 No Debate: This Film Is Great!
  by Rocky Raccoon (Boise, ID)
`The Great Debaters' offers what great movie viewing is all about. Based on a true story, the film takes us to Wiley, an African-American Methodist college in Texas during the Depression in 1935. Inspiring, harrowing, and uplifting, the film gives proper transcendence especially during a time and place that didn't offer many breaks.

We are first introduced to Professor Polson (Denzel Washington), a tenacious idealist and poet. As professor at Wiley and debate coach, he hardly yields on any of his principles. Inspired by the man who is named for the heinous lynching, Polson tells his debate recruits that it was in Lynch's best interests to keep Black people, "Physically strong, but psychologically weak." It is with this explanation that we understand his zealous approach to his debate team, and why he makes their training so rigorous.

Entering the field are forty-five tryouts, of which, only four will be selected: two representatives and two alternates. Of the three who make it, we get to know Henry Lowe (Nate Parker) a charismatic and bright figurehead who is easily distracted by beautiful women and hard liquor. Joining him are Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), the first young woman to join the debate team, and James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker) forever young at age 14, but an ever resourceful scholar and son of a minister, James Farmer, Sr. (Forrest Whitaker). [No real life relations.] As he notices a romance start to blossom between his teammates, his resentment grows. As the one who researches many of the arguments Henry and Samantha provide on the podium, he is put on the sidelines both in terms of the limelight and the love light.

As you might guess, Wiley enjoys a certain amount of success, and the price of success is opposition. Polson spends a great deal of his time and rhetorical talent organizing a sharecroppers' union, much to the chagrin of Sheriff Dozier (John Heard) who won't have unrest in his sleepy Texas town. In one scene the Farmer family is making a trek by car on a rural country road as they pass a poor white farm. The children who seem so mischievous run alongside the car as they pass along, unaccustomed to seeing a "Negro" with an automobile. Perhaps distracted by the nearby children, he runs over a pig, and in a quietly intense exchange between Farmer, Sr. and the owner, is extorted of a month's paycheck. This reminded me of a similar scene in the 1980's movie, `Centennial,' and showed the contrast between a good film with a similar theme and a great one.

In another part, the debate team makes their way by night to their debate destination when they come across a truly horrible sight. What they see through the windshield reveals a mob of white men who don't like having their heinous deeds brought to light. Shaken, they each try to come to cope with their discovery as they often lose focus and courage in the face of Polson's opposition and the violence laid before them.

Always kept in check by their unyielding leader, the debate team holds out for all possible opportunity. Audacious but unflinching, Polson invites Harvard to a debate match. One of the master strokes of the movie is how the debates and their topics match the action that goes on all around them. Show and tell is mixed expertly for a meaningful movie experience.

`The Great Debaters' is a top-echelon movie experience. Although it is reminiscent of movies like Mississippi Burning, To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition), and Akeelah and the Bee it captures a fulfilling true life story in a way that doesn't feel like rehash or contain a wasted scene. (Directed by Denzel Washington and screenplay by Robert Eisele)

5/5 A moving experience
  by R. Kyle (USA)
Please allow me to give a brief summary of life for African Americans, circa 1935:

* "Jim Crow Laws" were in effect In the Southern US, requiring "separate but equal" facilities for Blacks and Whites, including schools, bathrooms, etc.
* African Americans weren't issued birth certificates by some States, thus denying them basic rights of existence
* African Americans were called Negroes--or worse, and treated accordingly
* If an Afican American wanted an education beyond high school, most went to private segregated colleges

Forgive me if you already know this, but for some, this brief history lesson is all the African American history they've had and this small amount will help understand the times and the people.

"The Great Debaters" takes place at Wiley College, a private Negro college, in Marshall, TX. The semester has just begun and it's time for tryouts for the debate team with Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) as the coach.

Out of 45 students, only 4 make the cut. That's two team members and two alternates. Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams) is the only returning student.
Henry Lowe (Nate Parker) is obviously the pick of the crop. He's so much of the same mind as Tolson, they could easily be enemies if they weren't aligned, but both men have their own demons chasing them. Samantha Booke, alternate, (Jumee Smollett), wants to be the third Negro woman to practice law in the State of Texas. She's ambitious and she nearly lets romance with Lowe get in her way. James Farmer, Jr., alternate, (Denzel Whitaker), is only 14 years old and being strongly pushed by his father Dr. James Farmer, Sr (Forest Whitaker, who is not related to him) to excel in his studies and not let the debate team get in his way.

Tolson's got an ambitious program started. From the beginning, he's writing top schools, challenging them to match wits with his students.

As the team wins, more invitations come in. Meanwhile, Tolson is privately leading an effort to form a union for the Black and White sharecroppers of the area. Unfortunately, the local farmers disapprove and the meeting's attacked with the local Sheriff in the lead. Tolson himself nearly goes to jail and loses one member of his team because he's got a dangerous reputation as a Communist.

"The Great Debaters" may not be completely accurate about the histories of the people it depicts, but it is an education to the times themselves. We learn some poignant lessons about the origin of the term lynching and see an example. We also learn about civil disobedience and what it really means--and costs--to stand up for what you believe in.

Some describe this as a 'feel good' or 'team' film and I don't dispute either of these findings, but "The Great Debaters" is also an opportunity to demonstrate the history of a time and of a people. In my opinion, this is a very good film to show to history classes of all colors, because too few people do realize the conditions of the past and the price African American people paid for a better education and more chances to interact and compete on an equal basis.




4/5 An Argument in Defense of this Film
  by Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA)
Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" has that classic feel-good attitude about it, the kind that can be both uplifting and inspiring when we feel that life is getting us down. I admit that sounds a little hokey. I also admit that the story is somewhat predictable, especially as it nears the end. But the strengths of this film far outweigh the weaknesses--this is a pleasant and enjoyable story, one in which overcoming adversity is not only the overall theme, but also the literal driving force of the plot. I use the word "plot" because I have no way of knowing how accurately it interprets real life; the year 1935 saw the debate team from Marshall, Texas' all black Wiley College compete with several major, mostly white universities. Leading Wiley's team was Melvin B. Tolson, an African American English professor who stirred up controversy not only because of his race, but also because of his radical political beliefs.

In the film, Denzel Washington portrays Tolson as a motivating but firm man of principle, believing that a debate can only be won through a strict regiment of reason and logic. The beginning of the semester sees the formation of a new debate team, and out of the forty-five students who try out, only four are chosen. One is Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), a young man so disillusioned by life that he drowns his sorrows in reckless behavior: he drinks; he womanizes; he gets into fights with dangerous people. He's also Tolson's mental and emotional equal--both are strong-willed and stubborn, and both are willing to match wits with each other. The second student is Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), the first woman to ever be on Wiley's debate team. The feelings between her and Henry are strong, if a little stormy: while she does enjoy the occasional party, she doesn't appreciate the way he deals with his pain.

The third student is James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), who must have been brilliant since he was in college at age fourteen. He also has feelings for Samantha, but because she only sees him as a friend, he constantly feels rejected. It doesn't help that he's always assigned as the debate team's researcher; he'd like the chance to actually debate an opposing team. His drive to succeed academically was most likely brought on by his father (Forest Whitaker, and in case you're wondering, no, he's not Denzel Whitaker's real life father); as a professor, he believes that nothing is more important than an education. It's so important to him, in fact, that some may perceive him as unsympathetic and needlessly stern.

The fourth student is Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams), who's eager to please everyone, especially Professor Tolson. I wish more about this character had been explored, because being the teacher's pet is always indicative of some deep-seeded need for attention. As it was, this character is the least developed. One thing we do learn is that his father doesn't agree with communism, which is bad since rumors have been spreading about Tolson's political beliefs; dressed as a simple farmer, he secretly meets with other farmers--both white and black--and discuss how they should form into a union, which would theoretically mean equal pay for every worker. One such meeting is interrupted by a group of white vigilantes who, as you might expect, prefer the status quo to progression. Leading this group is Dozier (John Heard), Marshall's bigoted sheriff.

The major highlights of this film are the debate scenes, all of which are effective in their simplicity. They show how the Wiley team earned its reputation as undefeated champions, and the victories are so satisfying that it's easy to overlook the routine nature of the plot. Watching the students carrying off yet another trophy, I felt joyous and triumphant inside, and isn't that exactly the way I was supposed to feel? As a director, Washington has crafted a film that isn't at all unlike some of the better sports movies--it puts the characters through a series of trying circumstances only for them to arise as one and transcend. "The Great Debaters" definitely accomplishes that goal, and accomplishes it well.

This is a good thing because some heavy-handed material is not spared on the audience. Keep in mind that this takes place in 1935 in the Jim Crow south; the film's single most disturbing scene shows a white mob surrounding a lynched black man, his dead body hanging from a tree branch and burnt beyond all recognition. Tolson and his debate team see this as they drive late at night, and in the end, they barely escape with their lives.

The film culminates with the Wiley team debating Harvard University, an event so historic that it was broadcast all over the country via radio. I guess it doesn't matter that, in real life, Wiley never debated Harvard--for this story, Harvard is symbolic of that one major obstacle to be overcome. You're just going to have to see for yourselves if Wiley wins the debate; you might have some idea given the kind of film this is, but even if this is the case, I'd still recommend this movie to you. "The Great Debaters" is good-natured and inspirational, the kind of film we all want to see from time to time. In all honesty, it was an absolute pleasure to watch something so uplifting. Let's face it: movies about winning teams--of any sport--can make you feel like a winner, as well.

5/5 African American History on Film
  by Shamontiel L. Vaughn (Chicago)
Initially when I saw the preview for this movie, it just looked like another team movie where at the end, we all scream and root for the underdogs. However, I saw a movie clip of Denzel Washington's character, Professor Tolson, educating his students on the connection between Willie Lynch and lynching and grabbed my ticket to see the movie in full. "The Great Debaters" is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson (played by Washington), a professor at Wiley College in Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team and helped bring more firsts: the first black female debater Samantha Booke (played by Jurnee Smollett) and the leader of the first Black college to win a national championship. He also brought along two other team members: a stubborn but very intelligent and charismatic debater Henry Lowe (played by Nate Parker) and James Farmer Jr. (played by Denzel Whitaker). Forest Whitaker plays James Farmer, the college president, the first black man to earn a PhD from Texas, and a man who stood up for a legal case for Washington's character.

The movie immediately grabbed me when I heard the opening lines of my favorite poet's, Langston Hughes, creation "I, Too, Sing America." Not only did this movie give the audience English lessons through poetry and quotes of prominent African Americans, but it also gave some very important African American history lessons about topics like civil disobedience, the connection between Willie Lynch and lynching in the south, capitalism versus Methodist practices, the contradictions of W.E.B. DuBois, hinted at the story of Emmitt Till along with other young, black boys who were tortured before being lynched, a disturbing scene where the students came face to face with a lynch mob and a young, black man burned and hung from a tree, and how a sheriff in the town they lived in was the ringleader against a peaceful protest.

The tale is real. Some characters are fictional but ideas from their personalities are based on characters that Tolson actually knew. Other characters center around characters that went on to become outstanding leaders in today's society, such as James Farmer Jr., who in real life is the founder of Congress of Race Equality (1942) and an essential protestor for the Civil Rights Movement.
Movies like these, especially for African Americans, don't come around often, but they are surely appreciated, much like another incredible movie (Something the Lord Made), which was aired on HBO. The education within "The Great Debaters" is what is shunned in American history books, rarely heard about even during Black History Month, and I probably would've never heard of before Christmas of 2007, when the movie released. In addition to the historical lessons and political and social arguments debated within this movie, the audience watches a tale of a young man and a young woman, and how racism can break a young man's spirit not just through education but in his relationship with her. We witness a young man whose father deals with a belittling and repulsive situation with a car accident and learns what it's like to deal with racism in the 1930s. The audience is introduced to Tolson, who refuses to back down on the lessons he teaches, where he takes on debates, and his views on race and religion because of the color of his skin.

I'm sure audience members came away with different lessons learned and various favorite scenes. There was a scene where one young man kissed the inside of a young woman's hand, and it was the most romantic and innocent scene that I've seen in films for quite some time. But, the most powerful scene for me was not that of seeing the firsthand lynching, how a black man was treated for trying to have an intelligent negotiation with two men too uneducated to know what endorse meant, or the end result of the debate at Harvard. The most powerful scene for me was during a debate on integration for schools when several white southerners left a debate without listening to the pros of letting black people and white people enter school together. Instead of taking the time to listen to both sides of an argument, people who were so set in their ways and continuous practice of racism wouldn't even give the students the chance to speak up, even if it was for an academic cause. This is the type of film that needs to be shown to not only an African American audience, but an American audience, so they can see what is missing in American history and English books (Tolson was also a poet). I'm sure there will be irate ratings from conservatives and people who think racism is in the past or people should just get over it, but I loved every single minute of it, will not get over America's ugly past, but will use lessons and films like these to improve as a person. Great job to all the cast, crew, writers, and Professor Tolson!

3/5 Flawed But Interesting
  by B. Merritt (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States)
THE GREAT DEBATERS is an interesting historical look at the first black debating team to ever compete at a white college. And although it is interesting as a film, it isn't very historically accurate.

The good is that, as a film viewer, you care about the main characters. Denzel Washington (Deja Vu) stars in -- and directs -- this ethnically challenging movie, and does so in his usually adequate way. Melvin B. Tolson (Washington) is the teacher of the Wiley College debate team in 1935 Texas. His team is comprised of three bright young black people: Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), an overly-clever man with a possible future ...if he can stay out of harm's way; Samantha Brooke (Jurnee Smollett, House, M.D.), the first female debater in Wiley College history; and James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), a chubby lad with a penchant for research.

Growing up in the South (that's South with a capital "S"), the team must not only fight to win debates against local colleges, but must also battle the prejudices of the times. They come into close contact with ignorance and racism on a daily basis. Even their teacher, Mr. Tolson, is threatened at various crossroads.

This is what stood out in the film ...and rightfully so. But there were some serious flaws in the film, too. The biggest was the debates themselves. Many of them were based on emotion and not facts and statistics. It would've also been nice to have had the names of the actual persons within the film and not some made-up ones (some were real, like Tolson, but others were not).

Some praise has to be made for Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as Dr. James Farmer Sr. His role was understated and held much of the powerful, emotional punch toward the final third of the movie, especially when his son James Jr. discovers why his father reacts the way he does during an embarrassing prejudicial moment.

That Wiley's black debaters made it to Harvard and debated their team is now history. But I would've liked to have seen more of the actual history than this Hollywooded version. Still, it's an interesting movie that'll give many viewers an insight into something they probably knew nothing about.