Courtesy of TIFF
Every year, there’s at least one surprise addition at the Toronto International Film Festival that surprises audiences with tsunami-like amazement in its genius, art, and ability to justify what makes movies great in the first place. For 2023, that film is Ava DuVernay’s historical masterpiece Origin.
Filled with romance, research, rigour and fervid determination, the level of detail into this biography of writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson and her study of caste is the foundation for this more-than-meets-the-eye biopic.
Writer and director DuVernay is best known for her 2014 Oscar-winning biography film Selma, looking at the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. For Origin, she has broadened her scope and scale to examine not just her central character’s work and its impact but also its global ramifications.
The films title poses the question: what is the origin of human superiority and hatred to one another? The eventual conclusion is proposed by Isabel that, "Caste is the origin of all discontentment."
Part of what makes Origin so spellbinding and gripping is how the plot slowly unfolds the complex idea of caste in a smart reveal of its the thesis. It’s a great success that the audience discovers these ideas at the same pace and with the same shock that Isabel does.
What I can safely say is the film follows Isabel’s life and family concurrently: as she finds herself at a crossroads with three key relationships in her family, she also decides to write a second book. The inspiration comes after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, when Isobel begins to confront the subject of caste hierarchies in world history.
It’s also helped by a thunderous performance from Aunjanue Ellis (Oscar nominee for King Richard two years ago) as Isabel, infused with curiosity and power both in her work and with her family. Every element that’s defined DuVernay’s past filmography now collides into Wilkerson’s story, though it’s hard to review properly without spoiling what Isabel discovers.
If you’re unfamiliar with the history and study of caste, Origin is both a terrific introduction to the subject as it is a masterclass analysis on both this uncomfortable overarching topic of human rights and Isabel’s insights into it.
Great writers can write simply and clearly, and both Isabel’s book (that inspired the film) and DuVernay’s screenplay make these difficult concepts clear through a thoughtful, emotionally charged narrative.
This movie will change the way you look at culture, hierarchy of people, and global interconnectivity forever. Better summarized from the script itself, is that hopefully, "The diets of hatred and violence can be replaced by compassion and solidarity."
I last reviewed DuVernay with 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time, and while negative I suggested then the faults of the film were based in production and not her talents. Nearly six years ago, I said then, "hopefully, there are better things to come in the future."
Now, I’m thrilled to say those better things have absolutely been materialized tenfold in Origin. My impression at the end of the film was so powerful I was struck with a response I still can’t shake: that I had almost certainly just seen the best film of 2023.
Isabel notes that "A cast system needs scaffolding in order to maintain its hierarchies." This film is a brilliant look into how that scaffolding came to be and how normal people can fight back - and reclaim their freedom.
Origin
10 out of 10
14A, 2hrs 10mins. History Drama.
Written and Directed by Ava DuVernay.
Starring Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald and Myles Frost.
Set for release in theatres December 2023.
