4) Malcolm X
There’s probably no performance among the series of epic performances by Denzel Washington that’s more epic than his epic portrayal of Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s epic 1992 joint, Malcolm X. This was a biopic made back before biopics were treated cynically or as old hat; Lee and Washington took their time, over three hours in fact, to give this significant American figure the deliberation, contemplation, and scope that he deserves. It’s curious that movies like this can’t quite be pulled off in this way anymore, the way Malcolm X or Gandhi were once portrayed on film.
Another aspect about Malcolm X that is very clear is how appropriate he is as a thinker for Spike Lee to depict on screen. The central thoughts in Do the Right Thing were a part of this on screen dialogue epitomized by two contrasted quotes by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Malcolm, however, is shown to have moderated his views over time, and this duality, the two sides of his identity and philosophy that are pulling on the Malcolm character, are brought up beautifully by Washington’s performance.
He makes him as complicated as he needs to be, not a saint nor a zealot, but a man in a state of constant learning, seeking to improve himself and his fellow African American people. From this point on it was clear that keeping Denzel in the background of a film was virtually impossible. He was the type of lead star who needed to be front and center.
