How the fuck am I supposed to believe that a Black man raised in the Deep South had never had fried chicken.
I understand artistic license and all but that shit was a bridge too far.
Really disappointing that Farrelly went that route.
LOL,
Don Shirley was NOT raised in the Deep South.
The whole point of the movie is here’s a highly educated black guy, went to the Leningrad conservatory, wanted to be a classical pianist, has no real connection with black culture, unable to fit in with both white AND black society.
There is no “artistic license” here, these are the facts of Don Shirley’s biography.
Too bad you’re cutting yourself off from an excellent movie.
You obviously have no idea what you're talking about and/or you're woefully ignorant of American culture and geography.
According to the New York Times, Shirley was born and raised in PENSACOLA, FL which is about as Deep South as you can get geographically and culturally. Both of my parents were born and raised in towns not far from Pensacola and I spent significant time in those towns as a youth.
Additionally, he attended two HBCUs in the South, one being Prairie View A&M University in Texas(the Deep South) and Virginia State University just outside of Richmond, VA(while not considered the Deep South is solidly culturally Southern). So you should be laughing at your own ignorance as Shirley's OWN immediate family has called bullshit on his portrayal of not being connected to Black society/culture.
It's a subtle(or not so) racist contention that an educated culturally sophisticated Black man would be or feel alienated from the Black community. FFS he was close friends with Duke Ellington!
I could address your screed point by point but it would be a waste of time as your mind is already made up, but I am amused that for somebody who claims they're never watching this "bullshit" you certainly went to a lot of trouble to become informed about Shirley.
And my point stands, you shoot yourself in the foot missing a great movie.
Why is having knowledge about a prominent Black pianist surprising while not wanting to view a skewed representation of him? My awareness of Shirley's gross misrepresentation is the reason for not supporting the film.
It's not as if the distortion was trivial, I could deal with that. It was a perversion of a core character trait. The man marched with MLK and yet they chose to portray him as estranged from Black culture and community. Highly disrespectful.
I have no doubt that the film is well made and entertaining. Mortensen and Ali are superb actors and I love Farrelly's other work.
My "screed" as you call it was simply biographical and other known facts that easily refuted your claim. There's no legitimate way to address my points other than to acknowledge that your were wrong. I won't hold my breath.
I respectfully submit you’re full of yourself. I was going to say shit but reined in my first impulse.
shareAnd you're intellectually dishonest.
You claimed Shirley wasn't raised in the South and had no real connection to the Black community. Both claims are patently false but instead of acknowledging those facts you chose to deflect and question my motives for being informed. That just demonstrates you lack maturity and can't admit you were wrong. I conceded I may be missing out on an otherwise well-made and executed film but I'm okay with that for the reason previously stated.
Pride is a helluva drug...but I'm the one who's full of himself/shit.🤔
You're missing a great movie.
shareI very well may be. To present this film as historically accurate with such glaring non truths is the height of dishonesty. Not to mention the absence of any input from the Shirley family. I believe Shirley was very likely homosexual and don't have an issue with that portrayal. My issue is the depiction of him being alienated from Black culture/society.
Farrelly should've made a straight fictional movie that was inspired by Don's and Tony's relationship instead of marring Shirley's portrayal.
The screenplay was written by Tony Lip's son Nick. I know several of the scenes were taken out of context and took place during different road trips.
My understanding was Nick did talk with Shirley's family. Some of them objected to him portraying them as friends saying that Tony was merely an employee.
Farrelly was also involved in writing the screenplay and was under the impression there weren't many family members still alive. They weren't consulted with on the actual screenplay. While many of their objections are unfounded the most important one is not.
shareCurrently watching and enjoying it. Never heard of them before.
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