Denzel Whitaker = James Farmer?

In Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters (Weinstein Co., 12.25), a primarily true period story (set in 1935) about student debaters from the African-American Wiley College in Texas having a climactic match with debaters from Harvard University, the 17 year-old Denzel Whitaker plays James Farmer, the renowned founder of CORE and civil-rights leader who was one of the Wiley debaters.


(l. to r.) Great Debaters costar Denzel Whitaker; James Farmer in the '40s; in the mid '60s

Listen to this recording of Farmer, and you can sense his debating skills quite readily. He was only 15 when the Great Debaters story occured, but had a deep James Earl Jones-type voice and an elegant vocabulary as an adult -- qualities he presumably had the beginnings of as a youth. Whitaker (no relation to costar Forest Whitaker) has a thinner, far-from-stentorian voice. Farmer stood well over six feet (which he would have also been in '35, as most 15 year-olds have reached adult height), but Whitaker stands only 5' 6". And Whitaker doesn't resemble the youthful Farmer at all -- he looks more like an adolescent Muhammad Ali.

The likable and appealing Whitaker plays Farmer as well as he can, which is to say satisfactorily. I'm not putting him down, and this is not a forecast of a Great Debaters review. But given the qualities of the Real McCoy, it's hard not to wonder why Washington cast Whitaker in the first place. The result is a bit like watching Chris Rock portray Paul Robeson.


The real "great debaters" -- professor Melvin B. Tollson (played by Denzel Washington in the film) stands in the center.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 22, 2007 at 12:33 PM

comment #1

p.Vice Author Profile Page says ...

Let's just say that Denzel's choice in roles points to an obvious deficiency in the creativity department that has no doubt translated to his work as a hack filmmaker.

Posted by p.Vice Author Profile Page at November 22, 2007 12:51 PM

comment #2

AJW Author Profile Page says ...

Is that Reginald VelJohnson in the middle up there? Did the pregnant wife of James Farmer in '40 eat lots of Twinkies?

Posted by AJW Author Profile Page at November 22, 2007 3:42 PM

comment #3

Rod32303 Author Profile Page says ...

bunch of hatin' bitches again, as usual.

Who knows what kinds of kids auditioned, what his choices were...and maybe Washington's idea of the man is different than Wells...it's a fucking movie, not a doucumentary.

Posted by Rod32303 Author Profile Page at November 22, 2007 6:43 PM

comment #4

jeffmcm Author Profile Page says ...

Denzel Whitaker? Is this some kind of genetic splicing experiment to create the Ultimate Black Actor?

Posted by jeffmcm Author Profile Page at November 23, 2007 12:39 AM

comment #5

BurmaShave Author Profile Page says ...

mcm is right on. Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker in a movie together, how do you not cast Denzel Whitaker? I quake in fear of Terrence Freeman or Jamie Cheadle.

Posted by BurmaShave Author Profile Page at November 23, 2007 2:08 AM

comment #6

starsineyes Author Profile Page says ...

I think Denzel's a fine actor. Denzel and Forest together in a movie will be great. I don't know how this qualifies him at all as a "hack film maker." Perhaps I'm not as excited to see this as American Gangster only because I don't know enough about it but I will go see it. Both gentlemen were in the Bible Experience and from what I've heard so far, it seems to be a pretty fine example of their quality of work. I really liked hearing Denzel read Song of Songs with his wife. I think he chooses accordingly to what he thinks his repetoire needs.

Posted by starsineyes Author Profile Page at November 26, 2007 12:40 PM

comment #7

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