Synopsis
A young black man named Bigger Thomas takes a job working for a highly influential Chicago family, a decision that will change the course of his life forever.
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Cast
- Ashton SandersBigger Thomas
- Margaret QualleyMary Dalton
- Nick RobinsonJan Erlone
- KiKi LayneBessie Mears
- Bill CampHenry Dalton
- Sanaa LathanTrudy Thomas
- Elizabeth MarvelMrs. Dalton
- David Alan GrierMarty
- Lamar JohnsonJackson
- Jerod HaynesGus
Recommendations
- 91
The Film Stage
It may have moments where it feels unwieldy—like a runaway train gone off its tracks—but it never flags for one second. A movie this bold doesn’t dare lose momentum. - 90
TheWrap
A gut-punch of a debut that examines race relations in America with unabashed force, Johnson’s present-day interpretation proves, disgracefully, how pertinent Wright’s text remains. - 80
The Guardian
It’s a fiery, flawed, often stunningly made film that provokes uncomfortable discussion, rather like the Richard Wright novel it was based on, although purists might argue over some key changes. - 70
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Ultimately, this is Sanders’s show. His performance breathes new life into one of American literature’s most heartbreaking and controversial characters. - 70
Screen Daily
While this slow-motion tragedy sometimes risks more than it can deliver, the film’s cumulative effect stuns nonetheless. Ashton Sanders heads a fine cast that forcibly articulates the everyday landmines African-Americans have to navigate in a white society that often seems intent on destroying them. - 67
The A.V. Club
The early stretch of the movie is its strongest, as Johnson lays out the bric-a-brac of Bigger’s life, which involves a good deal of code-switching, and carefully tweaks the novel’s key relationships, updating the condescension of his employer’s rich-kid daughter, Mary (Margaret Qualley), to a new era of white guilt and microaggressions. - 67
The Playlist
For every scene that doesn’t work there is another that’s spellbinding. It’s gutsy and provocative and, frankly, that’s a compliment you can’t give many independent films these days. - 60
Uproxx
Sanders plays Bigger Thomas in such a unique, interesting way that I couldn’t help but be enthralled by his life. Unfortunately, the plot points in Wright’s novel, of all things, betray him.
