White Lies, Pt. 1 — Imitation of Life

The Next Picture Show

Rebecca Hall’s new film PASSING centers on a complicated female friendship defined in part by semi-porous racial boundaries, a thematic throughline that pointed us directly to Douglas Sirk’s IMITATION OF LIFE — with an assist from RogerEbert.com critic Odie Henderson, who in his recent review of Hall’s film invoked Sirk’s 1959 melodrama, citing it as his #3 film of all time. We’re joined this week by Henderson to discuss how IMITATION OF LIFE's wrenching storyline about a Black woman’s ongoing rejection by her white-passing daughter operates within the whole of a film that has several other plot concerns, primarily those of a white woman played by the film’s lone movie star, and how the film’s performances and overall heightened style mesh with its messaging about race and class. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding one of our major problems with LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, and how it plays across the pond.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IMITATION OF LIFE, PASSING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More description

Rebecca Hall’s new film PASSING centers on a complicated female friendship defined in part by semi-porous racial boundaries, a thematic throughline that pointed us directly to Douglas Sirk’s IMITATION OF LIFE — with an assist from RogerEbert.com critic Odie Henderson, who in his recent review of Hall’s film invoked Sirk’s 1959 melodrama, citing it as his #3 film of all time. We’re joined this week by Henderson to discuss how IMITATION OF LIFE's wrenching storyline about a Black woman’s ongoing rejection by her white-passing daughter operates within the whole of a film that has several other plot concerns, primarily those of a white woman played by the film’s lone movie star, and how the film’s performances and overall heightened style mesh with its messaging about race and class. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding one of our major problems with LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, and how it plays across the pond.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IMITATION OF LIFE, PASSING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-11-23 69 min Transcript
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

Open the Transcript tab to load the transcript.

Chapters

No chapters available.