Passing

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Passing

PG-13

2021

1h 38m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

245 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

In the 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

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Critics Consensus

While Passing's delicate approach has a dampening effect on its story, debuting director Rebecca Hall makes the most of an impressive cast -- and handles thorny themes with impressive dexterity.

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Michael Blackmon

BuzzFeed News

01/06/2022

Passing is one of the must-see films of 2021, one that will stay in your mind well after the credits have begun to roll.

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Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

11/18/2021

3/4

Much of "Passing" could be a stage play: people talking in confined spaces, the confinement figurative as well as literal. It's a chamber drama bearing the weight of several centuries.

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Melanie McFarland

Salon.com

11/12/2021

Hall breathes life and light into it in a way that lends a weight of beauty and honesty to its immersion into a world of purposeful pretense.

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Joshua Polanski

Boston Hassle

07/18/2024

Its pure existence may be a sign of hope to cinephiles.

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Sarah Vincent

Cambridge Day

08/16/2023

3/4

Hall and Thompson create a complex portrait of a woman who is a mystery to herself, prefers to enforce rigid class, sexual, racial and gender norms yet flouts them when repercussions seem to be minimal.

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Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

07/24/2023

B

Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga carry the plot forward with charm and elegance, as does everyone else in the cast, but these two share such remarkable chemistry that I feel that the slow pacing was actually quite adequate.

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Molly

11/12/2021

There is some past history to the story line.

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Damien

11/08/2021

Although it was a little slow (but was more true to the way people behaved in the time period) it was mesmerizing. The performances were nuanced and incredible. Underlying all of this was the difficulty being a black person in America. You would have thought things would have changed by now, maybe in NY, but the more rural towns in this country tell a different story. It was great to see a really good story poignantly told without all the blood, guts, sex, gore, cursing and superheroes that dominate the movies today.

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royce n

11/07/2021

Great movie worth seeing

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Shileta

11/04/2021

It was good!!! The choice of choosing to pass as life or black as death was so intriguing. The cinematography was excellent.

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Ann

10/31/2021

Sensitive & beautifully filmed. Acting was superb.

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Nabil

10/31/2021

Plot and acting are excellent. Movie evolves in unexpected ways.

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Passing: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

Director: Rebecca Hall
Producer: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Rebecca Hall, Margot Hand, Forest Whitaker
Screenwriter: Rebecca Hall
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Sweet Tomato Films, Sight Unseen Pictures, Flat Five Productions, Significant Productions, Gamechanger Films, XRM Media, Film4, Picture Films, TGCK Partners, Endeavor Content
Rating: PG-13 (Some Racial Slurs|Smoking|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 10, 2021
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital