Passing

PG-13

Released Oct 27, 2021

1 hr. 38 min.

Drama

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90%

250 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

Audience Score

In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

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Netflix

Watch Passing with a subscription on Netflix.

Critics Consensus

While Passing's delicate approach has a dampening effect on its story, debuting director Rebecca Hall makes the most of an impressive cast -- and handles thorny themes with impressive dexterity.

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Molly

There is some past history to the story line.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/12/21

Full Review

Damien

Although it was a little slow (but was more true to the way people behaved in the time period) it was mesmerizing. The performances were nuanced and incredible. Underlying all of this was the difficulty being a black person in America. You would have thought things would have changed by now, maybe in NY, but the more rural towns in this country tell a different story. It was great to see a really good story poignantly told without all the blood, guts, sex, gore, cursing and superheroes that dominate the movies today.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/08/21

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royce n

Great movie worth seeing

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/08/21

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Shileta

It was good!!! The choice of choosing to pass as life or black as death was so intriguing. The cinematography was excellent.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/04/21

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Ann

Sensitive & beautifully filmed. Acting was superb.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/01/21

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Nabil

Plot and acting are excellent. Movie evolves in unexpected ways.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/01/21

Full Review

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Rebecca Hall

Director

Tessa Thompson

Irene

Ruth Negga

Clare

André Holland

Brian

Alexander Skarsgård

John

Bill Camp

Hugh

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Passing: Trailer 1

1:52

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Michael Blackmon

BuzzFeed News

Passing is one of the must-see films of 2021, one that will stay in your mind well after the credits have begun to roll.

Jan 6, 2022

Full Review

Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

Much of "Passing" could be a stage play: people talking in confined spaces, the confinement figurative as well as literal. It's a chamber drama bearing the weight of several centuries.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 18, 2021

Full Review

Melanie McFarland

Salon.com

Hall breathes life and light into it in a way that lends a weight of beauty and honesty to its immersion into a world of purposeful pretense.

Nov 12, 2021

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Cambridge Day

Hall and Thompson create a complex portrait of a woman who is a mystery to herself, prefers to enforce rigid class, sexual, racial and gender norms yet flouts them when repercussions seem to be minimal.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Rebecca Johnson

Film Focus Online

It's full of terrific performances, especially from Thompson and Negga, and its eloquent atmosphere makes it one of the most visually and audibly pleasing entries of the year.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga carry the plot forward with charm and elegance, as does everyone else in the cast, but these two share such remarkable chemistry that I feel that the slow pacing was actually quite adequate.

Rated: B

Jul 24, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.

Director: Rebecca Hall
Executive Producer: Michael Y. Chow, Lauren Dark, Chaz Ebert, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri, Joseph Restaino
Screenwriter: Rebecca Hall
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Sight Unseen Pictures, Flat Five Productions, Significant Productions, TGCK Partners, Film4, Sweet Tomato Films, Endeavor Content, Gamechanger Films, XRM Media, Picture Films
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material|Some Racial Slurs|Smoking)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 10, 2021
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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