This HBO films project seems like it's destined to be shown during civil rights units in American middle and high schools, though I fear it'll put the kids to sleep. I really enjoyed how artsy it was; director Clark Johnson plays with POV shots and has bystander characters voice their thoughts directly to the camera during certain moments in the film. There's some tricks with light bloom and flashbacks (including the brief depiction of a lynching victim swinging from a tree) as well, all in the name of providing broader racial and historical context to what is otherwise a tightly-focused character ensemble - until the final third, that is.I found the backroom deals, conversations and negotiations between the members of the burgeoning Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and the all-white town councillors and commissioners to be fascinating. I was unfamiliar with most of these real-life figures except Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, as I suspect many viewers will be. The actors and actresses are universally outstanding; I'm a big fan of CCH Pounder and was initially drawn to the film due to her involvement, though unfortunately her character of Jo Ann Robinson has less and less to do as the film goes on. The film is worth watching for Reg E. Cathey's performance as E.D. Nixon alone: he is fierce, stubborn and driven, with an often fractious relationship with the other members of the MIA. Erik Dellums steals all of his scenes as Bayard Rustin, a gay left-leaning activist who advises Dr. King in the last leg of the film and who in real life was a fascinating character - he totally deserves his own movie. (Fun fact: Dellums would later play a creepy philosophizing "doctor" who gets Damian Lewis addicted to heroin in an episode of Homeland that was also directed by Clark Johnson).Ultimately, the film's focus grows narrower and narrower until it's mostly about Dr. King (Jeffrey Wright) and his wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo, who would reprise this role in 2014's Selma). That's fine, but the film loses a bit of the ensemble spark that it began with. This story desperately needs to be revisited, especially since the court ruling that ended segregation on buses in Alabama - where this film ends - was in reality the beginning of even more white backlash, from bombings to black people including a pregnant woman being sniped, to people feeling so scared that they still rode in the back of the bus anyways. That's also a story that needs to be told.

I just saw Boycott on Kings day of celebration 2004 and it has renegized me as a filmmaker and brother. All the elements are her from Jeffery Wright's beautiful portral of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and the power to move forward on faith and conviction, to the supporting cast and the brilliant cinematography telling the story in both a narritive and documentary style. Much love to Clark Johnson for his direction in a film that offered us more of king then we ever knew and handling the material with the respect it is due. Let's not forget david Hennings who I hope to hire someday and Stewart Burns for such poignant writing. My favorite part is when every one gets on the now desegregated bus but king and you see it pull away with king in the back window. He is ordinary yet extraordinary and has more battles yet to come. The ending is inspiring and makes this a new classic in the history of king's legacy. Props to HBO and all involved.

In the thirty-three years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, his life has taken on an almost mythical status. The result is that people often forget that he was a real living and breathing man. He was a person who loved (and made love to) his wife. Dr. King was an intelligent man with the gift of oratory, but otherwise ordinary, who suddenly found himself thrust into an extraordinary situation. Commend HBO, director Clark Johnson, the screenwriters and the incredible cast for breathing life into the often told story of Dr. King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Previous films on Dr. King, paint him as an almost superhuman figure -- a saint even. With Boycott, the filmmakers have wisely brought him "down to earth' and reveal Dr. King as a noble, but clearly human being who has feelings and weaknesses. Remember Dr. King was only 26 years old with a young wife and child, when the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. Also significant is that the film explores Dr. King's relationship with his father at the time. All of these elements help to give the film a special power that will resonate with viewers. Jeffrey Wright gives a powerful performance in the lead role than rivals if not surpasses Denzel Washington's performance as Malcolm X. Wright is so riveting, that you actually forget that you are watching a performance. The film's documentary-style approach also gives the film an almost eerie sense of realism. There's also some more subtle touches that help to place the viewer into the period. Some of the most striking were the scenes showing how black passengers were required to pay their bus fare and how they were treated once they got on the bus. Boycott is not a mere "history lesson," but a moving portrait of a time and the role that a people played in improving their quality of life.

This film, following other classics of histo-drama such as Malcolm X or Cry Freedom, is not a biography of Martin Luther King. Instead, it shows in detail the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the beginnings of Dr. King's philosophy and motivation.It is somewhat dis-orienting at first, as it is shot both in a documentary style, with references to the camera and a raw, un-cut feel, and in a more traditional style. However, as the movie progresses, you find both styles equally powerful in their methods.'I found this film particularly moving because I was not alive during the events depicted, and the personification or the real-ization of the characters, people I grew up near worshiping, brought home just how different today's world is from 1950's Alabama.