Shirley Chisholm was a visionary. This frustrating film about her presidential run, starring an underserved Regina King, is not.
“Remarkable” almost doesn’t feel like a big enough word to quantify Shirley Chisholm. The Brooklyn-born politician was not only the first Black woman ever to be elected to United States Congress, but also the first Black woman to ever have a real, conceivable shot at the American presidency, earning a considerable amount of primary election votes and presidential delegates along the way.
There are hints of Chisholm’s interiority here, but they are merely passing glimpses. We see her seated in silence, facing away from the camera, digesting news for just a moment. We catch her stalwart determination starting to fire its cylinders, only for Ridley to cut away to the next scene, taking the power King was just beginning to exhibit on screen with him. Even King, who has the chops to make this into a career-defining role, can’t seem to figure out what to do with her character.
Biopics are a tough genre to nail, and there are far more middling ones than there are memorable ones. Filmmakers are tasked with finding the right balance between telling viewers about history and showing its impact, and Ridley buckles under that pressure right out of the gate. Hard-won victories in Chisholm’s campaign don’t feel celebratory, and setbacks—along with her eventual resignation from the presidential race—aren’t emotionally impactful.
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