I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough to evaluate this meandering documentary and do it justice. The premise was to take James Baldwin’s thirty pages of a book proposed about the assassinations of his friends Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers and complete the work in film. In many ways, it’s a gorgeous and evocative meditation on being black in America that could not draw a sharper contrast to the searing clarity of 13th. There is no question that the material brought forth is important and powerful, but is the film any good? I honestly can’t say. I don’t know if Baldwin’s genius commentary on complex social issues translates well to film. I found myself wishing more that this was a coffee table book, something that I could flip back through, pause, consider a quote, move forward and then back again. For this reason, I’d strongly recommend waiting for the film on DVD. I found it dissatisfying and distracting to desperately want to take a note for later in the theater. As the film pulls more and more issues into an analysis of race in America, the original assassinated figures start to become more of an afterthought than central players. It is at best when there is archival footage of Baldwin himself elegantly explaining his social theory. The film is most laudable for avoiding heavy-handed “Racism is bad and mean,” pitfalls and instead focuses on the underlying philosophical causes. It shines brightest when an even-handed critique of American society states that it is “empty, tame, and ugly” and makes the point that racism harms the oppressors and rots the soul of the culture even more than it harms the oppressed. I still can’t say if this is a “good” film, but it’s definitely worth watching. And for those unfamiliar with Baldwin’s work, it should be mandatory.