In 1968, Shirley Chisholm was elected as the first black woman to the United States House of Representatives. She spent her early years as a teacher, then went into politics, winning a seat in the New York state legislature before then running for and winning her seat in Congress. Despite her many accomplishments, many do not know that following this, Shirley Chisholm was the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. It is this time period that writer and director John Ridley examines in the new film “Shirley,” streaming next week on Netflix.
The story starts with Shirley Chisholm (Regina King) telling Wesley “Mac” Holder (Lance Reddick), Arthur Hardwick, Jr. (Terrence Howard), and her husband Conrad (Michael Cherrie) that she intends to run for president with the goal of garnering enough delegates to help shape the platform of the Democratic party. She partners with a young white college boy, Robert Gottlieb (Lucas Hedges), to help with the youth vote and also meets a young Barbara Lee (Christina Jackson), encouraging her to use her frustration with the way things are as a catalyst to get involved and make changes. Despite the difficulties that she encountered, Shirley stayed true to her core beliefs throughout the campaign.
I first learned about Shirley Chisholm’s presidential campaign when I watched the television show, “Mrs. America.” Her story is incredible, and I was happy to see her get a feature-length biopic. It is a story that Regina and Reina Hall have wanted to tell for 15 years, and it is exciting to see that finally come to fruition. Unfortunately, this film failed to capture the magnitude of Ms. Chisholm’s accomplishments in a way that fully engaged me.
The performances are all solid. This is one of Reddick’s final performances, and it is powerful, as always. There is a scene between Howard and King after Chisholm visits George Wallace (W. Earl Brown) in the hospital where Howard shines, but this film was King’s to carry, and she did it well. When it is clear that she is being stabbed in the back by someone she has made a deal with, King does a beautiful job of portraying both the hurt and disappointment as well as the strength to forgive. Her dedication to this character is apparent throughout the movie.
Ultimately, that was the disappointment of this movie for me — I wanted to see more of the nuance of what it was to be a black woman in that time period running for president, particularly to compare it to politics today. While there were some powerful moments in it, the whole of it felt flat. I appreciate the facts it laid out and that it brings attention to Ms. Chisholm’s incredible work, but I felt like I could have gotten the same information from reading a Wikipedia page. One of the benefits of film is the ability to humanize these legends. “Shirley” does that to some degree, but for someone so impressive, I wish there had been more.
ALISE CHAFFINS is a Morgantown writer who loves movies and sharing her opinions. She reviews a movie from a streaming service every Saturday and one newly in theaters every Sunday. Find more at MacGuffin or Meaning on Substack.
