Mangrove (2020)

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Mangrove Movie Poster

Mangrove is a British historical drama and it is a part of the "Small Axe" anthology series from the director Steve McQueen. This movie released on 15 November 2020 (United Kingdom) and 20 November 2020 (United States) who reveals the real story of Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes) and his Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill, London, where the Black community gathered in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the Police Department saw fit to attack on several occasions. It starring

  • Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones-LeCointe
  • Malachi Kirby as Darcus Howe
  • Shaun Parkes as Frank Crichlow
  • Rochenda Sandall as Barbara Beese
  • Nathaniel Martello-White as Rhodan Gordon
  • Darren Braithwaite as Anthony Carlisle Innis
  • Richie Campbell as Rothwell Kentish

Plot

Malachi Kirby (standing) plays activist Darcus Howe in Mangrove,

Mangrove centers on Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), the owner of Notting Hill's Caribbean restaurant, Mangrove, a lively community base for locals, intellectuals and activists. In a reign of racist terror, the local police raid Mangrove time after time, making Frank and the local community take to the streets in peaceful protest in 1970. When nine men and women, including Frank and leader of the British Black Panther Movement Altheia Jones-LeCointe (Letitia Wright), and activist Darcus Howe (Malachi Kirby), are wrongly arrested and charged with incitement to riot, a highly publicized trial ensues, leading to hard-fought win for those fighting against discrimination.[1]

Black Empowerment

As seen on the movie, it depict how the black community seek for justice and they still have hope, and also invite other black people to fight together the racism "Through Mangrove in particular, McQueen demonstrates how anger is not only holy, but how it functions as a visceral response to suffocation and denial; a mission for justice and a necessary force in tandem with hope".[2] But there are also moments where they faced this horrible situation with a lot of love and joy. The infectious joy of Black people is visible, gathering at a restaurant as a community and dancing the night away at house parties. Lost in between the Black love families, spouses and friends laughing outside a courtroom even though their future hangs in the hands of a racist judicial system."We are a joyous people. I think you have to be in order to survive all these sort of unfortunate situations,"[3]

Controversy

Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones-LeCointe leading the protest

The movie depicts how black people in Britain treated so badly by the police officers, someone who is supposed to maintain order, security, protect the community and enforce the law fairly in a country. There is a scene when a rookie officer is commanded to hunt for a Black people to arrest as part of his indoctrination into the force, when the officer emerges from the pitch black, sprinting full speed towards anonymous young Black man. It is called “n*gger hunting” and it was identified as a common sport in the Metropolitan Police department. It also shows the anxieties and indignities of living like prey in your own home, when the police start to raid the Restaurant just because there is a sign "Black Ownership" on it[4] "Only three of the alleged 12 times the restaurant was raided between January 1969 and July 1970 are shown on screen, but that’s more than enough to illustrate why the black community eventually decided to organise a march in protest".[5]

Reference