‘The Dutchman’ Review: André Holland Leads Andre Gaines’ Haunting Contemporary Take On 1964 Play — SXSW

deadline.com:

Although Amiri Baraka’s 1964 play Dutchman is steeped with profound commentary on the era’s racism in the U.S., Andre Gaines‘ contemporary adaptation takes the plot and the message to haunting levels.

Co-written by Gaines and Qasim Basir, The Dutchman stars André Holland as Clay, a successful Black man grappling with his wife Kaya’s (Zazie Beetz) infidelity, as well as his own self-perception versus how the world sees him because of the color of his skin.

After multiple people in his life tell him it’s only fair for him to step out on the marriage as well, he meets Lula (Kate Mara), a sinister, seductive white woman who knows an alarming amount about him. “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes,” the film’s opening reads, quoting Carl Jung.

Nearly two years after the killing of 30-year old Black man Jordan Neely on a New York City subway, and amid ongoing attacks on DEI and “woke” ideologies, Jung and Baraka’s words have never been more relevant.