April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Entertainment Column
Black Catholics focus of film
Appropriately co-produced by roundball star Magic Johnson, "Passing Glory" has as its center Father Joseph Verrett, a Josephite priest assigned to an all-black Catholic high school in the mid-'60s. He is played by Andre Braugher of "Homicide."
Also in the starting five are Rip Torn as his mentor and superior; and Ruby Dee as the blind grandmother of the school's star player.
Real events
Based on actual events, the movie sets a pick on many cliches in films about racial problems. Here, for instance, the black characters are not all noble human beings. They include the radical priest who wants to change things quickly, a man passing as white, a ne'er-do-well who regrets his choices in life and the star athlete's father, who is happy to get along quietly in a segregated town. In one of the movie's best scenes, the grandma explains to her grandson why his father acts that way.At the beginning of "Passing Glory," Father Verrett arrives in New Orleans with strong ideas on how to end racism, such as entering an all-white diner and demanding service. He's also offended by public and parochial schools being segregated, including the one at which he teaches.
Drummed into temporary duty as basketball coach, he seizes on the opportunity to demand a championship game with the all-white Jesuit high school, ranked third in the nation.
Confrontation
BY his actions, Father Verrett rankles his superior and, eventually, the archbishop. "Passing Glory" sidesteps another cliche in a short scene in which the priests go two-on-one with the bishop. Most movies play such scenes as if the participants had never met and shared nothing in common; in this drama, the men are on first-name terms and familiar with one another's points of view and unique circumstances.The tension in the movie is eventually funneled into the championship game, which comes to represent the struggle for equality and integration. Can the black and white players be on the same hardwood as equal competitors? Can their families sit in the stands as equal witnesses? Can each of them be judged on their performance rather than on their skin color?
"Don't be afraid to rub up against them," one coach tells his players just after the tip-off. "Their color won't come off." It's a tribute to the originality of "Passing Glory" that the line is uttered by Father Verrett, not by the white coach.
Who wins?
Previewing the movie, I remained in suspense as to how it would end. If the black team won, it would make a powerful point. If the white team was victorious, there would be a strong message about the value of competition. A tie would carry its own meaning. As the final play unfolds, viewers are kept holding their breaths even longer by the director, who uses an editing trick to keep the suspense in play.For its expert handling of sensitive issues of race, for its presentation of a variety of black characters, for its image of a priest standing tall and making a difference in a teenager's life, and for its portrait of Catholicism as both a participant in and cure for racism, "Passing Glory" is a superb movie that should be viewed by the entire family.
("Passing Glory" debuts on TNT on Feb. 21 and will be shown several times through March 1. How true-to-life is "Passing Glory"? It's based on factual events but took many liberties. In my next column, I interview the real Father Verrett to find out what actually happened in New Orleans in 1966.)
(02-18-99)
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