Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and inspired by a true story, The Great Debaters chronicles the journey of a brilliant but volatile coach (Denzel Washington) who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small, modest black college in East Texas into an elite debate team while challenging the social mores of the time, culminating with a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard's championship team.
This movie was a really powerful drama. All of the performances were phenomenal. Especially the three younger actors who actually did the debating. They were more captivation that Denzel and Forest. That's a pretty amazing achievement. The only problem with this movie was that I probably would have been more captivated by it a lot more if I would have seen it in theaters. Seeing this at home allowed me to be distracted too much and I found myself enjoying the movie but not all that in to it. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I figured I would take a crack it. Regardless, this is a really good movie and Denzel Washington continues to show that he can direct as well as act.
I'd recommend people checking this out if they are in to powerfully acted dramas like this. Its definitely worth the rental fee.
