Passing may be a black-and-white film, but the story it tells is anything but. Based on the 1929 fiction novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, Passing introduces audiences to recently reunited childhood friends Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, two mixed-race Black women living through the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. Though both are white-passing individuals, Irene acknowledges her Black heritage, while Clare hides hers to assimilate with white society, a practice known as “passing.” As they rekindle their childhood friendship, Clare and Irene begin to see in each other what their lives could have been, unearthing unspoken jealousies and exposing the depths of racial oppression in prohibition-era America. With its history, heart, and intrigue – and 1920s New York as its backdrop – this Netflix drama will have you on the edge of your seat.
Whether you’re a big fan of period pieces, love book-to-movie adaptations, or were just hooked by the performances of Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, there are plenty of other movies available to stream that are just as captivating as Passing. So if you’ve already seen the film more times than you’d like to admit and still can’t seem to get enough of it, here are 10 of our picks for what to watch next.
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The Hate U Give
Based on the Angie Thomas novel of the same name, The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, a 16-year-old Black girl who lives in a predominantly Black, low-income neighborhood, but attends a predominantly white prep school in an affluent area, causing her to straddle two very different worlds. When she witnesses the unjustified police shooting of her hometown friend, Khalil (who was unarmed), Starr’s worlds collide as she seeks justice for her friend. Much like Passing, The Hate U Give sheds light on the racially motivated social tensions that exist within communities.
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Hidden Figures
Rarely do Hollywood movies feature multiple Black female protagonists, but Passing does just that, and so does Hidden Figures. A historical drama like Passing, Hidden Figures takes us back to the Cold War era in the US from the perspective of NASA’s Black women mathematicians and addresses the underlying bigotry and discrimination they faced for both their race and their gender.
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Frances Ha
This movie adaptation of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Beloved, tells the story of Sethe, a mother and former slave who’s tormented by her unspeakable past despite already being as free as post-Civil War society allows her to be. This manifests itself in the form of an angry poltergeist that haunts Sethe’s home and causes her three children to run away. Much like the characters in Passing, Sethe can’t escape the psychological effects of systemic racism.
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Mudbound
Set in post-World War II America, Mudbound explores everyday life in the Jim Crow South and the constant fear and oppression that permeated the era. Similar to the contrasting perspectives in Passing, this narrative is told through the eyes of two families in the Mississippi Delta whose lives could not be any more different.
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Little Woods
Want to see more of Tessa Thompson? The actress also stars in Little Woods as part of another empowering female duo, this time as a reformed drug runner who, along with her half-sister, finds herself in an impossible situation. Like Passing, this film showcases the resilience of the human spirit and the lengths people go to protect themselves and the people they love.
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Brooklyn
If the sociohistorical aspect of Passing piqued your interest, this period drama won’t disappoint. Based on the novel of the same name, Brooklyn is set in 1950s New York during the second major wave of Irish and Italian immigration to America. In the film, Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman from Enniscorthy, comes to the city seeking employment and falls in love with an Italian plumber while there, but a death in the family forces her to return to Ireland, where she must deal with the pressures of providing for her family all while her heart calls her back to Brooklyn. Like Passing, Brooklyn explores the strong desire to escape stifling social mores to pursue one’s true desires.
