Regina King has had a good acting career. She started on The Cosby Show in the 80s and transitioned into a character actor in films and television shows later in her career. She even won an Academy Award for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. She’s since gone on to direct One Night In Miami and get other great roles such as the leading role in Shirley as the title character Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley was elected to Congress in New York City in 1970 and decided that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to be the voice of change for Black people in the United States. She decided to run for president in the 1972 election. The problem is the Black community in America was splintered and had different allegiances throughout the democratic party. George Wallace was the main man in the election to dethrone Richard Nixon. As history would have it that didn’t happen.

John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) is a successful writer and director of television shows and movies. He’s done some great work in the past. Shirley is another film where he put a lot of work in. Based on the subject matter I can see why a biopic about Shirley Chisholm was an important topic for Ridley to tackle. She was a groundbreaking woman in politics in the 70s. This film shows how important and groundbreaking she was.

Ridley assembled a great cast of actors in all of the supporting roles. Lucas Hedges as her youth coordinator Robert Gottlieb. Lance Reddick and Terrance Howard as Wesley MacDonald and Arthur Hardwick Jt. two of Chisholm’s closest advisors on her campaign. Brian Stokes Mitchell as Stanley Townsend her campaign manager whom she had a bit of a difference in philosophies. Michael Cherrie as Ron Chisholm, her husband who felt a bit on the outside looking in with his wife being such an important person and Christina Jackson as Barbara Lee, a future politician and staunch supporter of Chisholm when she was a younger woman.  This cast was a huge standout in the political biopic. They added a nice element to the star power of Regina King in the leading role.

With period-piece films such as this one, the world has to look like the time it’s taking place in. The 70s is a distinct decade with clothes and hairstyles that look and feel of that decade. Ridley and company got this time perfectly correct. I loved the look of the film from beginning to end. Even television footage looked the part it was supposed to look like. As a fan of the 70s in film, I am happy when films look the right way. This one did just that.

Politics in America, like the country, in the 70s was a bit hectic. That’s what this biopic shows. The allegiances started one way and changed with the wind. Even Black men didn’t stick to helping other Black politicians.  That’s why Richard Nixon ended up winning the election in 72. We all know what happened to him later on but that’s not the point of this film. The point is the country wasn’t ready for a Black woman to be President of the United States. It was barely ready for Black men and women to be politicians in general. That message is very clear in this story.

The Chisholm Trail was one that Shirley blazed in the 70s but it wasn’t one that was quiet. Shirley was able to inspire various young men and women to follow in her lead despite her attempt at the Presidency in 72. Plenty of girls looked at this drive for the white house as one that they could emulate in future decades. The women’s lib movement combined with the Civil Rights movement gave a lot of women a kick in the backside to get out of the house, go to school, and become prominent women in society which helped them get more chances in politics. The future we live in today would bare witness to this.

Shirley is a solid biopic that specifically deals with a short period in the life of Shirley Chisholm. Along with her supporters she was a groundbreaking women in Civil Rights and Women’s Lib. She did a lot for Black women in the United States. The cast was solid with Regina King In the title role of Chisholm. She brought a great weight and importance to the role. This character has been played by others in the past but King did a lot of solid work with this role. The technical aspects from clothes, makeup and hairstyling and production design made the film look very authentic to the time. I felt like I went back in time with this film. Ridley accomplished a goal with getting this story out in the open for a whole new generation of young boys and girls to learn about this woman and her journey.

Shirley is streaming on Netflix March 22nd

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen