Feeling invisible, but painfully visible all at the same time, Barry searches for an answer on what to make out of his half-black, half-white descent, and an upbringing in Honolulu, Jakarta, and California.
This isn’t the first time we’re seeing a young Obama making it onto the big screen. In the summer, we saw a 28-year-old Barack charm his way into the heart of his future First Lady in Southside With You. Now, director Vikram Gandhi tells the story of an Obama eight years earlier, before becoming the composed and charismatic politician we see in press conferences and public events today in the biopic Barry.
Gandhi’s Barry takes us back to 1981, when a young Obama was just transferring to Columbia University—cigarette in hand and suitcase packed with questions. Barry’s (Devon Terrell) first night in noisy New York City is just as eventful as one might expect for a confused 20-year-old moving across the country. He arrives at his apartment, only to find out his roommate, Will (Ellar Coltrane), isn’t home. Unsure of where to go next, he spends the night admiring the Columbia campus that he is now a part of, only to get stopped by an officer questioning his legitimacy as a Columbia student—reminiscent of the racial profiling we see in the country today. Young Barry calmly complies with the officer’s commands to leave and eventually makes his way to his dark-humored, cocaine using friend’s (Avi Nash) apartment to spend the rest of the night.
As he begins his junior year as a political science major, Barry finds himself stuck between two worlds: one of his white, Ivy League classmates and one of his new home, Harlem, a neighborhood ingrained with African-American culture. Feeling invisible, but painfully visible all at the same time, Barry searches for an answer on what to make out of his half-black, half-white descent, and an upbringing in Honolulu, Jakarta, and California.
As Obama takes his final moments in the limelight, this film is a sensitive and engaging story, demonstrating what it truly means to be a part of the melting pot that is America: now and in the years to come.
While Barry struggles to find his niche continues, he meets Charlotte (Anya Taylor- Joy), a witty and intellectual student created out of a compilation of Obama’s previous, real-life girlfriends. But their budding romance is cut short when Barry is unable to see past her whiteness. It is only when Barry encounters a civil rights activist and “coincidentally” interracial couple, who tell him his entangled cultural background is what makes him an American—and that he never has to choose a side—that Barry is able to accept both of his backgrounds equally. In the final scene, after finally discovering the meaning behind his complicated identity Barry says, “I’m from a lot of places, but I’m here now.”
Even though Adam Mansbach’s script teases the audience with a few subtle lines foreshadowing the man we know today, this is not a story of the man who would one day become President—one who has it all figured out. Barry is an ordinary film about an ordinary guy (at the time), which makes it all the more charming. It’s about a man learning how to navigate a new and exciting, but all the while confusing, chapter of his life. Something we can all relate to. With lead actor, Devon Terrell, perfectly embodying the cool, yet slightly awkward ambiance that makes up a 20-year-old Obama, we watch Barry grow into someone we can see as a leader. Anya Taylor-Joy portrays a sympathetic, albeit clueless (when it comes to being a minority looking to fit in) character we see all too often, adding to the film’s relevance in the time period of 1981 and 2016.
Without being mundane or trite, we are reminded of the race-based issues taking place around us every day, but also of the humanity in all of us. As Obama takes his final moments in the limelight, this film is a sensitive and engaging story, demonstrating what it truly means to be a part of the melting pot that is America: now and in the years to come. Barry will stick with us for a while.
‘Barry’ is not rated. 104 minutes. Now available on Netflix.
