RIOTUS

Reviewed by Julian Lytle
Grade: B

So the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is one that I feel a lot of Black people in the United States have no clue about. It’s one I didn’t know about until my late twenties about a man who was a musical prodigy and top-tier fencer in Paris.

So here we have this pretty standard historical biopic that is handled in such a way that feels works for introducing this figure to modern audiences and making it relevant to their lives and the current times. Bologne was taken from his slave mother by his white father to France and then dropped off at a prestigious school to train his talents. His work in this society as an outsider through pure excellence garnered him status, prestige, and part of Marie Antionette’s court. The conflict comes to a head once his mother is freed and sent to live with him after his father’s death, and he must confront his origins along with the changing state of France as it gets closer to the French Revolution.

I feel this conflict will resonate as a young Black person who’s worked hard to get to where they are at the cost of hiding or denying their culture and heritage to fit into the greater society. Now, Kelvin Harrison Jr., I feel, does well as Joseph, portraying that change and dealing with how mercurial his status as a Black man in Paris at those times. Samara Weaving and Ronke Adekoluejo really stood out in this film for me.

Originally posted on the Geek Girl Riot podcast on idobi.com