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Black Nativity

Play trailer Poster for Black Nativity PG Released Nov 27, 2013 1h 33m Holiday Musical Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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51% Tomatometer 87 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Langston (Jacob Latimore), a Baltimore teen raised by a single mother (Jennifer Hudson), travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with estranged relatives, the Rev. Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker) and his wife, Aretha (Angela Bassett). However, Langston soon finds that Cobbs has strict rules, and the youth is unwilling to follow them. Instead, he sets out on a return journey to his mother and finds the value of faith, healing and family along the way.
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Black Nativity

Black Nativity

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Critics Consensus

It's sweetly amiable and solidly performed, but Black Nativity suffers from director Kasi Lemmons' heavy-handed treatment of its celebrated source material.

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Critics Reviews

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Dwight Brown National Newspaper Publishers Association Black Nativity is a jubilant experience. Mar 21, 2017 Full Review Wesley Morris Grantland All of Black Nativity proceeds with sort of clumsy obviousness. Dec 10, 2013 Full Review Max Nelson Film Comment Magazine To my eyes, Black Nativity is the cinematic equivalent of a Christmas tree ornament: shiny, hollow, sheathed in decorative, artificial linings, mass-produced and, given the cost of today's movie theater tickets, overpriced. Dec 9, 2013 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com If not for the presence of Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, Black Nativity would likely be an easily tossed away film for anyone. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 3, 2020 Full Review Allen Almachar The MacGuffin We're in that strange area where a film balances between two opposite ends: it's impossible to hate, but really tough to love Rated: B- Jul 28, 2020 Full Review Julian Lytle Punch Drunk Critics To wrap up, Black Nativity isn't the best holiday film we have this season and probably won't clean up at the cinema because in the end it's just a quite average movie. Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 11, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Vanessa H It’s a shame what a low rating this movie has. It’s a beautiful musical with wonderful and soulful voices. There is a lot of great talent; I was especially impressed by the young actor, Jacob Latimore. It’s a positive and uplifting movie. It is also a nice tribute to Langston Hughes; it is based off of his play. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/23/24 Full Review kyle m The heavy handedness of the message mixes beautifully with Forest Whitaker's performance as the intense Reverend. Far better than Netflix's "Jingle Jangle" Black Nativity captures the story from the Bible, while also elevating African-American culture, creating a gorgeous and moving film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review r 9 I was, for the most part, feeling pleasant enough about this... until that ending. It's not that 'Black Nativity' ends badly, it's just so incredibly forced and cringeworthy. It's a Christmas film so I guess I could cut it some slack, but I feel it could've concluded things much better. Some of the character decisions felt odd at times, also. One of the reasons as to why I was actually finding this satisfactory throughout is the cast - loads of recognisable and likeable faces. Forest Whitaker (Cornell) is honestly great, his performance is the only one I'd class as anything over 'good'. Jacob Latimore (Langston) and Angela Bassett (Aretha) are the best of the rest, though I always like watching 'Fast & Furious' star Tyrese Gibson act too. All in all, nothing positive or negative... just average. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review georgan g An ok musical but not much of a film. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member We loved this movie! It was marvelously written and performed! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Loved it! The mustc was awesome. I'm so proud Kasi Lemmons and the attributes she will bring to young people that want to become directors or screen writers. There's a great message in this movie through music. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Black Nativity

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Cast & Crew

Believe 33% 69% Believe Watchlist TRAILER for Believe Jem and the Holograms 22% 40% Jem and the Holograms Watchlist TRAILER for Jem and the Holograms Lovely, Still 73% 75% Lovely, Still Watchlist The Nativity Story 37% 76% The Nativity Story Watchlist Noel 28% 48% Noel Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Langston (Jacob Latimore), a Baltimore teen raised by a single mother (Jennifer Hudson), travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with estranged relatives, the Rev. Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker) and his wife, Aretha (Angela Bassett). However, Langston soon finds that Cobbs has strict rules, and the youth is unwilling to follow them. Instead, he sets out on a return journey to his mother and finds the value of faith, healing and family along the way.
Director
Kasi Lemmons
Producer
Celine Rattray, William Horberg, Galt Niederhoffer, T. D. Jakes
Screenwriter
Kasi Lemmons
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Maven Pictures, Wonderful Films
Rating
PG (Language|A Menacing Situation|Thematic Material)
Genre
Holiday, Musical, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 27, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 31, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.0M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital
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