Surprisingly engaging, Richard Tanne’s Southside with You recounts the fateful first date between Barack Obama and his future wife
Michelle Robinson, which occurred on one very long afternoon and evening in
1989. On the surface, this would seem a
project with limited appeal, and surely a very narrow audience. However, one of the film’s surprises is how relatable
the experiences of the future president and first lady are here, as they’re
presented as merely two ambitious young professionals, eager to make a difference
within their community who just happen to find they can make a difference in
each other.
Seen primping and hurrying about the house she shares with
her parents, Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) goes out of her way to stress to
her mother that she’s not going out on a date, but rather “meeting a
colleague.” Her parents seem to sense
something she doesn’t as she goes off to meet Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers), a
summer intern at the law firm where she works.
What with his constant smoking and rattletrap car, she isn’t initially
impressed and he does himself no favors when he admits to having lied to her so
that they might have more time together.
Michelle’s fiercely defends her independence and will not be
compromised, but over the course of their “meeting,” she comes to see that she
has much more in common with Obama than she realized, that his determination to
help is genuine and that he may be a kindred soul after all.
Tanne’s screenplay is concise and sharply written, as the
conversations between the two principals never seems artificial but springs
from some organic place between them.
There’s a natural flow to this and the entire film as it effortlessly
segues from a meeting of community activists, to a walk on the lake, to a
screening of Do the Right Thing, none of these events rendered with an undue
sense of significance. Presenting this as just an ordinary day in which these
two just happened to meet alleviates any distance between the audience and the
characters.
A quiet, effective love story, more than anything Southside
with You gives us two attractive, compelling people who we come to like and
even admire, as they recognize their strengths and stand by their convictions,
yet have the wisdom to see that they might be better individually by being
together. This is done so well, you
can’t help but wonder what happens next where they’re concerned.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2016.
