The Great Debaters (2007)

(On Cable TV, July 2022) So many movies are released every year that many good ones pass us by unnoticed. That’s why I make it a habit of periodically checking off new award-winning lists to get pointers for those I should not have missed. My newest list is the NAACP Image Award-winners—I have seen enough of them to gauge that the award goes to good movies, and there are enough unseen films in there to make it worthwhile. The first film I was able to track down was The Great Debaters, and it’s appealing enough to make me wonder how I missed it. Taking us back to mid-1930s Texas, the film focuses on a headstrong teacher as he establishes a debate team at a historically black college, and then follows it to national victory against Harvard. It’s all based on a true story, albeit with composite characters and substituting Harvard University rather than the University of Southern California that was defeated during the real-life events. Denzel Washington not only stars, but also directs the film and does a quiet, efficient job in both roles. A good supporting cast (including Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker [no relation], Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett and Kimberly Elise) ably anchors the film, but it’s the script and its intentions that shine—in promoting wit, hard work and perseverance. Our characters use words as sport, and it’s that slightly different focus that makes The Great Debaters rise above its formulaic structure to become a compelling watch. Anyone familiar with sports movies or films about racial discrimination will not be surprised by anything here—but the packaging is quite good, the atmosphere of intellectual academia is well rendered and Washington elevates the film every time he’s on-screen (or off-screen for that matter). There’s clearly a personal appeal of the subject matter here but even if The Great Debaters isn’t a great film, it’s a good-enough one that is better than most of what else is out there. I took me a while to get to it, but I’m glad I finally did.