Regina King in a scene from “Shirley.” IMDb photo

MOVIE INFO

‘SHIRLEY’
Docudrama, Political Drama, Biography, Drama, History
Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.
Length: 117 minutes
Rating: Moderate profanity
Director: John Ridley
Writer: John Ridley
Stars: Regina King, Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard

In John Ridley’s “Shirley” we meet again Regina King (“Flag Day”) as Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in congress, who, in the beginning of “Shirley,” sits at a desk across from a frightened young Robert Gottlieb (Lucas Hedges, “Boy Erased”) and, with a smile, says “I’m running for President.”

He swallows, blinks, and asks, “of the United States?”

“Yes,” she answers.

“ Holy S….,” he mutters.

Later in her race, Chisholm stands on a platform, speaking as the first Black and first woman to run for the office. A Black man among others in folding chairs growls.

“You sound like all the politicians.”

She lifts her shoulders erect and, with her smooth, Black face shining, replies, “Do I LOOK like all the politicians?” Take that.

Chisholm, when she first appeared on the scene in Washington, D.C., was wearing a black cape. Make of that what you will, but it sounds like a Black woman auditioning for the hero of a TV series.

She was on the way to hero land. Little did she know that a hero was exactly what she would turn out to be. But like too many heroes in politics, her dream dimmed as she had to face down the White-guy ogres of the times.

It’s sad that we have to reintroduce Shirley Chisholm after all these years, but with the political rise of Vice President Kamala Harris who is now running for President, as Ms. Chisholm did, why wouldn’t we?

Chisholm was the first African-American woman elected to Congress, where she served for seven terms beginning in 1969.

With a background like VP Harris, she was the daughter of immigrants from Barbados and Guyana and always kept some of that accent.

Chisholm had a significant impact on anti-poverty policy and educational reform. In 1971, she was a founding member of both the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

That meant something in her time, but today, it’s a powerful force in American politics.

Written and directed by Ridley (screenwriter of “12 Years a Slave”), “Shirley” gives us a moving, heroic tale of her rise and heroic journey through a dark passage of American politics, with a heart-breaking attempt to be the first person of color to sit in the all-white Oval Office.

King as usual performs well, but is too beautiful even under the makeup to look very much like Chisholm.

In a New York Times article of the time, Chisholm was described: “Though her quickness and animation leave an impression of bright femininity, she is not beautiful. Her protruding teeth probably account in part for her noticeable lisp.”

It would need all of that for King to work. But at the time, we all watched Chisholm, and King is not at all a carbon copy.

Reina King, Regina’s sister, does well as Shirley’s sister, Muriel St. Hill, and is also a producer of the film.

Ridley fills his somewhat flawed but important film with an array of Black actors like the late Lance Reddick who brought life to “John Wick,” “The Wire” and “Bosch.”

Terrence Howard (“Empire” and “Iron Man”) portrays Arthur Hardwick Jr., who eventually became her husband.

The great Brian Stokes Mitchell, who, with an impressive background, has starred in almost everything on Broadway, gives a volcanic, angry portrayal of Shirley’s campaign manager, Stanley Townsend.

“Shirley” is streaming on Netflix.

J.P. Devine of Waterville is a former stage and screen actor.