Throwing shades (Images via Alfred A. Knopf & Netflix) Passing, the novel by writer Nella Larsen (1891-1964), has become an American classic, the story of two fair-skinned Black women, childhood friends from Harlem who reunite as adults when one has since married a white man and is aggressively passing for white in all aspects of her life.
It is a complex story, deeply nuanced, and one that defied adaptation to film for over 90 years. With her movie version of Passing, gifted actor Rebecca Hall — mesmerizing in the 2016 film Christine, among numerous other career highlights — has announced herself as an equally gifted director.