William Wyler's final film is a clear-eyed, gut-punch drama about racism in the 1960s south. It's a rare film from the era in which the black characters are arguably more nuanced than the white characters, and even the token liberal white characters (a couple visiting from up north) barely bat an eyelid at the racial slurs being hurled around. It's tough to watch, but not a slog, and the ending is pretty incredible. Given that it's totally uninterested in pandering to a 'but we're not racist' white audience, I'm shocked it got made at all.
Prompted to watch by Karina Longworth's You Must Remember This pod.
