‘The Dutchman’ Review: André Holland & Kate Mara Lead Andre Gaines’ Fascinating, But Flawed Adaptation Of Amiri Baraka’s Play [SXSW]

AUSTIN – A work that’s fascinating to discuss and grapple with while not being wholly successful at what it seems to be ultimately setting out to do, director Andre Gaines’ narrative feature debut “The Dutchman” is both a mighty big swing of a film as well as a more confined character study of sorts. Though it’s an interpretation of the late Amiri Baraka’s much-discussed 1964 play “Dutchman” (whose previous cinematic adaptation was long thought to be lost to time, though it has since been given new life), it is also one that carves out its own distinct territory and leans into the surreal elements of its source material. Continue reading ‘The Dutchman’ Review: André Holland & Kate Mara Lead Andre Gaines’ Fascinating, But Flawed Adaptation Of Amiri Baraka’s Play [SXSW] at The Playlist.

Mar 9, 2025 - 15:14

‘The Dutchman’ Review: André Holland & Kate Mara Lead Andre Gaines’ Fascinating, But Flawed Adaptation Of Amiri Baraka’s Play [SXSW]

AUSTIN – A work that’s fascinating to discuss and grapple with while not being wholly successful at what it seems to be ultimately setting out to do, director Andre Gaines’ narrative feature debut “The Dutchman” is both a mighty big swing of a film as well as a more confined character study of sorts. Though it’s an interpretation of the late Amiri Baraka’s much-discussed 1964 play “Dutchman” (whose previous cinematic adaptation was long thought to be lost to time, though it has since been given new life), it is also one that carves out its own distinct territory and leans into the surreal elements of its source material.

Continue reading ‘The Dutchman’ Review: André Holland & Kate Mara Lead Andre Gaines’ Fascinating, But Flawed Adaptation Of Amiri Baraka’s Play [SXSW] at The Playlist.