[FILM REVIEW] SON OF THE SOUTH Review (2020)

Summary:  The true story of one young white Southerner in the Summer of 1961, caught in a place and time where he had to choose which side he was on.

Year: 2020

Cinema Release Dates: 6th May 2021 (Australia), 5th February 2021 (USA)

VOD Release Dates: 5th February 2021 (UK)

Country: USA

Director: Barry Alexander Brown

Screenwriter: Barry Alexander Brown, Bob Zellner (book), Constance Curry (book)

Cast: Jake Abel (Doc), Shamier Anderson (Reggie), Nicole Ansari-Cox (Professor Kleiner), Cedric The Entertainer (Reverand Abnerathy), Dexter Darden (John Lewis), Lex Scott Davis (Joanne), Brian Dennehy (J.O. Zellner), Will Deusner (Skeeter), Onye Eme-Akwari (Chuck McDew), Chaka Forman (Jim Forman), Bram Fuller (Willy B. Painter), Brendan Fuller (Officer Fuller), Cian Genaro (John Hill), Thom Gossom Jnr. (Herbert Lee), Sienna Guillory (Jessica Mitford), Lucy Hale (Carol Ann), Malcolm X. Hayden (William Barbee), Bryan Herlong (James Zellner), Charlie Hill (4 Year-Old Bob Zellner), Stan Houston (E.H. Hurst), Evan Huang (Young Derek), Kuntrell Jackson (Leon), Jim Klock (Younger), Matt William Knowles (Jim Zwerg), Sharonne Lainer (Rosa Parks), Tom Lawson Jnr. (Aubrey Williams), Ludi Lin (Derek Ang), Mike Manning (Townsend Ellis), Michael Aaron Milligan (Jack), Will Mossek (Young Bob Zellner), Brad Napp (Floyd Mann), Julia Ormond (Virginia Durr), Laurissa Romain (Brenda/SNCC Singer), Will Runels (James Zellner in Russia), Michael Sirow (Jay-Jay), Angela Soule (Ruby Zellner), Jonathan Sterritt (Buster), Lyda Styslinger (Susan Wilbur), Greg Thornton (Clifford Durr), Joey Thurmond (Coach Raines), Lucas Till (Bob Zellner)

Running Time: 105 mins

Classification: M (Australia), 15 (UK), PG-13 (USA)

OUR SON OF THE SOUTH REVIEWS

David Griffiths’ Son Of The South Review:

There is a power in cinema that sometimes even shocks me now despite the many thousands of films I have seen over the years. It shouldn’t surprise me though, cinema has been educating me and shocking my view of the world for a good many years now.

I was a pretty naive teenager when it came to world events. To be honest if a news story wasn’t about the footy scores on the weekend or what film James Cameron or Steven Spielberg was about to release then the chances were I wouldn’t have watched it. That view of the world changed for me at High School with a certain history teacher who decided the best way to teach his students about some of the world’s most horrific events was through cinema.

I still remember the day that he showed us Mississippi Burning. I remember seeing the cover and thinking “oh cool he is going to show us a Gene Hackman movie”, then I remember the film starting and me sitting in absolute shock and awe as I got my first piece of education on racism in the USA.

That same power and lesson resonates with director Barry Alexander Brown’s (Last Looks) new film Son Of The South. To be honest despite the fact that I am much more educated on American history these days I had never ever heard of Bob Zellner and his courageous story.

Zellner, played here by Lucas Till (X-Men: First Class), was a young white Southerner college student who in 1961 decided to write a college paper about the Civil Rights Movement. The response to his paper though was the threat of expulsion and much to the shock of has Klansman Grandfather he soon has to make a decision about what side of the Civil Rights Movement he wants to be on.

For Zellner these events change his whole life’s focus and purpose. He suddenly goes from the dream life that he and his girlfriend, Carol Ann (Lucy Hale – Truth Or Dare), have picked out for themselves  to suddenly having meetings with the likes of Rosa Parks (Sharonne Lanier – Summer Of ’67) and soon he realises that if he wants to really change the way the community around him thinks then he may have to start making some sacrifices of his own.

I found that there is a true power with this film, in fact in a lot of ways this film had more of an impact on me than films like Judas And The Black Messiah. It has that power due to a great script, also written by Brown, that allows the film to preach without having a sermon. The key to films like this working is to let actions speak louder than words and Brown allows that to happen here with truly memorable scenes of black rights activists being confronted and beating for simply riding a bus into town.

Brown also stretches that mantra to the performances of his cast and there are often times in this film when a look by Lucas Till as his character sees the behaviour of those around him says more than a page of dialogue could. There are so many moments and scenes in this film that will stay with me for years that the only thing I can say is that this is one of the most important films that you are likely to see this year.

With this film Barry Alexander Brown also announces himself as a director who is ready to have a big impact on Hollywood. Brown already has two Oscar nominations to his name – one for his editing work on BlacKkKlansman and a second for his docco The War At Home – and to be honest he should have a third just for this film. As a director and screenwriter he is obvious storyteller who has a knack of telling that story on screen in a way that only a select few filmmakers can, I honestly can’t wait to see what film he tackles next.Son Of The South is one of the surprise films of 2021. It has an engaging and powerful story enhanced by a director who is at the top of his game and a young actor, Till, who produces one of the best performances of his career to date.

Dave’s rating Out Of 5

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