Black Nativity

2013 "The Musical Event of the Holiday Season"
4.8| 1h33m| PG| en
Details

A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey.

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Reviews

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Lawbolisted Powerful
Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
TxMike This is almost a musical, in several cases characters break out in song where we would normally expect dialog. But it isn't excessive and it works well.I saw this on DVD, now I wish I had seen it during the Christmas season for its message. A teenage boy in Baltimore with an unavailable dad and a single mom unable to pay the bills. So he is sent to stay with his grandparents in New York (Harlem). His grandfather happens to be a charismatic preacher, but with issues of his own.I became interested in seeing this for the superb cast, mostly actors I have seen and enjoyed in a number of roles. Forest Whitaker is the grandfather, Reverend Cornell Cobbs. His prize possession is a gold pocket watch with an inscription, a gift from MLK. The grandmother is Angela Bassett as Aretha Cobbs.But my favorite is Jennifer Hudson as the single mom, pregnant at 15. Naima is working at a couple of jobs but needs to come up with $5000 to avoid eviction, and has no way to get it legally. Her acting is spot-on and her singing superb as always.The 15-yr-old son is played well by 16-yr-old Jacob Latimore as Langston. The movie's title refers to a Christmastime Black Nativity presentation at grandpa's church. The ending and reconciliations work a bit too easily at the end, but the message of family and forgiveness is clear. Good movie, better then its IMDb rating (4.0 right now) would indicate. But it has a religious theme so people who object to that will not like it.SPOILERS: When Naimi became pregnant she became a family outcast, and the Reverend paid the dad $5000 to agree to never see her or the baby again. All this alienation ended up with Naimi in Baltimore and not speaking to her parents. At the end of the movie the Reverend confessed his "sin" to the whole congregation and his family, they forgave each other.
Tony Heck "Proof of God's grace is all around you, you just have to open your eyes." After struggling single mom Naima (Hudson) is faced with foreclosure and homelessness right before Christmas she decides to send her son Langston to live with his grandparents. Her father Reverend Cobbs (Whitaker) and his wife gladly take him in even though none of them know each other. Langston wants nothing more then to get back home to his mother and will do anything to make that happen. When a stranger offers to help his life is changed. Even though the cast for this movie is good I was not thrilled about watching this. After watching it my preconceptions were pretty much right on. It wasn't terrible but it was just so over-the-top cheesy that it made it a little hard to get into and enjoy. If this was a made-for-TV movie it would have been OK but the fact that this was a theater release really makes you wonder why this got that kind of distribution when there are so many other more deserving movies that don't get the wide release this one did. Overall, cheesy and nothing amazing. It is a Christmas movie though so that has to be taken into account. I give this a C+.
papacorn We've just come in from seeing this movie on Christmas Eve. Tonight was the ideal night to see it. I went with my spouse and both of us enjoyed it. Had read a review but didn't realize there would be quite a bit of singing. It wasn't disruptive though. I read the other reviews and understand that it might depend on your mood as to whether you see this as corny and full of stereotypes or not. It didn't seem that way to me, though a family in front of us laughed through it. On the other hand, the people behind us were sniffling. It was entertaining and, as the name would indicate, a movie with a religious tone. The story has a universal message. Losing your way, rejection, remorse, are a part of this.The setting is contemporary and ventures into dream sequences sometimes. They are the subconscious interpretations of a boy who is at the stage of his life where he is questioning who he is and why his life has been so hard. One highlight of the film is when the man in the pawn shop speaks to the boy with a verse from Langston Hughes. The sets deserve mention, so helpful in putting us in the story. Was it simple? Was it complicated? In the end, sometimes it pays not to over think it. This is a movie after all and there is no sin in a barefaced, "feel good" story. Talented actors can pull it off and they did.
mizwright Going in I knew this was a movie with music and that's what it is, versus a "musical" like Les Miserables, where there's singing throughout opera-style. The goodAll the actors stand out and do their characterizations well. Especially Jennifer Hundson as Naima, the single mom raising a boy-child on her own without help and estranged from her parents. Especially Tyrese who really shows his gentle side as Tyson. His body and face marked with scars, he looks like a thug but has a worldly view as he tries to steer young Langston to the right side of life. Especially Forrest Whitaker who characterizes the Reverend Cobb. Stern, unyielding but with a soft side. Especially the music that soars and transforms the screen into a gospel show near the end. Director Kasi Lemmons ("Eve's Bayou") integrates stage show with movie set ala "Rent". The story of a young boy struggling to find answers and being pulled toward wrongful ways is simplified and strikes just the right tone with spirituality and religiousness. The bad Near the end the drama is laid on thick.See it! This is the only "live" action musical of the year and while it is based on a little known play written by Langston Hughes, it's a triumphant interpretation on film.