Better_TV This HBO films project seems like it's destined to be shown during civil rights units in American middle and high schools, though I fear it'll put the kids to sleep. I really enjoyed how artsy it was; director Clark Johnson plays with POV shots and has bystander characters voice their thoughts directly to the camera during certain moments in the film. There's some tricks with light bloom and flashbacks (including the brief depiction of a lynching victim swinging from a tree) as well, all in the name of providing broader racial and historical context to what is otherwise a tightly-focused character ensemble - until the final third, that is.I found the backroom deals, conversations and negotiations between the members of the burgeoning Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and the all-white town councillors and commissioners to be fascinating. I was unfamiliar with most of these real-life figures except Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, as I suspect many viewers will be. The actors and actresses are universally outstanding; I'm a big fan of CCH Pounder and was initially drawn to the film due to her involvement, though unfortunately her character of Jo Ann Robinson has less and less to do as the film goes on. The film is worth watching for Reg E. Cathey's performance as E.D. Nixon alone: he is fierce, stubborn and driven, with an often fractious relationship with the other members of the MIA. Erik Dellums steals all of his scenes as Bayard Rustin, a gay left-leaning activist who advises Dr. King in the last leg of the film and who in real life was a fascinating character - he totally deserves his own movie. (Fun fact: Dellums would later play a creepy philosophizing "doctor" who gets Damian Lewis addicted to heroin in an episode of Homeland that was also directed by Clark Johnson).Ultimately, the film's focus grows narrower and narrower until it's mostly about Dr. King (Jeffrey Wright) and his wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo, who would reprise this role in 2014's Selma). That's fine, but the film loses a bit of the ensemble spark that it began with. This story desperately needs to be revisited, especially since the court ruling that ended segregation on buses in Alabama - where this film ends - was in reality the beginning of even more white backlash, from bombings to black people including a pregnant woman being sniped, to people feeling so scared that they still rode in the back of the bus anyways. That's also a story that needs to be told.

BeckyLadakh I use movies as an adjunct to English class in a remote part of India. I like to show movies from different parts of the world or where students will also learn something about history or cultures, so I bought this movie sight unseen. I'm sure it's a great movie, but for my students it was much too slow moving and they started to lose interest. I was disappointed about that since I find this episode in history so exciting, but that's how it went in my class. If you use "Boycott" in an ESL class, be sure to give the background to the history beforehand. Don't worry about the accents -- they are clear, and the dialog is clear and slow enough, but a lot of background knowledge s required.

Fatfella I just saw Boycott on Kings day of celebration 2004 and it has renegized me as a filmmaker and brother. All the elements are her from Jeffery Wright's beautiful portral of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and the power to move forward on faith and conviction, to the supporting cast and the brilliant cinematography telling the story in both a narritive and documentary style. Much love to Clark Johnson for his direction in a film that offered us more of king then we ever knew and handling the material with the respect it is due. Let's not forget david Hennings who I hope to hire someday and Stewart Burns for such poignant writing. My favorite part is when every one gets on the now desegregated bus but king and you see it pull away with king in the back window. He is ordinary yet extraordinary and has more battles yet to come. The ending is inspiring and makes this a new classic in the history of king's legacy. Props to HBO and all involved.

sddavis63 Filmed to resemble a documentary, "Boycott" is the story of the 13-month long Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that resulted from Rosa Parkes' refusal to give up her seat on a city bus for a white man.Jeffery Wright offers a powerful performance as Martin Luther King, Jr. His resemblance to King - both in physical appearance and speaking style - is almost eerie. He is most definitely the highlight of this movie, particularly since no one else in the cast really stands out from the crowd.The film offers a pretty good step by step description of the boycott from a number of angles. It isn't shy about pointing out the power struggle within the black community over control of the boycott in its early days, and it dramatically portrays the extent (and the sheer lunacy) of racist sentiment in the South of that era.The movie suffers, though, from the decision to make it a mock documentary. Among other things, it simply takes itself much too seriously. Movies that pretend to be documentaries generally make neither great movies nor great documentaries. This is no exception. The jerky filming, the constant shifting into black and white for brief periods and for no apparent reason (except perhaps as a racial comment?) and the "interviews" with various characters didn't contribute very much. "Boycott" would have been much better as a straight drama. As it is, it manages to offer some valuable insights into Montgomery's racial problems in the 1950's, it has some truly wonderful music and it is an uplifting reminder that race hatred and violence can be overcome. So it isn't a bad movie; it just never quite seems to hit its stride, and it could have been so much better. It's good, but not great. 6/10.