Throughout Black History Month, the Vancouver Public Library is running “Black Brilliance on Screen,” a film series taking place on Friday afternoons to explore prejudice, discrimination, and Black identity.
February 13’s programme was the star-studded, 1967 rom-com Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, featuring Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, and Spencer Tracy. This film is a snapshot of an afternoon when a rich, young, white woman brings home her Black fiancé to meet her parents, and to seek out their blessing for them to get married. The film details how her parents, particularly her father, come to terms with their daughter loving a Black man. Throughout the film, the father, played by Tracy, battles with what he thought were his liberal values and his deep-seated racism.
This film definitely shows its age when grappling with certain themes; the acceptance of the Black fiancé is largely hinged on the fact that he is a doctor and a professor, among other laudable achievements.
In a way, it seems that this character was turned into an exemplary figure, as this was the only way in which audiences would sympathize with him. The film also leaves much to be desired in the way that the men speak to, and treat, women.
For me, the most impactful scene of the film is the closing sequence without a doubt. Tracy delivers one last speech in which his character finally comes to terms with the situation, and chooses to support his daughter and fiancé on their journey. While the speech within the film is very touching, the events happening behind the scenes add a layer of gravity, which bleeds through quite visibly. Tracy had been dealing with severe health problems for years leading up to the film, and this scene was his last before he passed away just 17 days later. This final scene continually pans to a heartbroken Hepburn, who plays his wife in the film, but had also been his long-time lover and friend for 26 years. The love and the pain in their eyes as they try to hold it together to finish the scene are truly palpable, and add a depth to this film, which cannot be manufactured. I had been far more critical of this film up until this scene, as prior to the ending it felt like something of a run-of-the-mill vintage movie. However this ending sequence was emotionally captivating and made me feel as though I was watching my grandparents dance together for the last time. Despite certain themes such as sexism and elitism in this movie, I think the end sequence depicting the bittersweet tragedy and loss of these two people who had loved each other for such a long time certainly makes it worth watching.
