Uma História Americana

"The Long Walk Home" (1990): Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz, Ving Rhames, and Dylan Baker star in this story about the 1955 Montgomery Alabama bus strike. It had to happen, but it wouldn't happen overnight, and not without serious new problems. The "back of the bus" rule was no longer acceptable to some citizens. This is a serious and insightful look at two fictional women, existing at opposite ends of the Montgomery social structure, who, while having accepted their current relationship, find themselves hesitant participants in the "larger" world. "The Long Walk Home" brings history back to life in reasonable and wonderfully detailed way. The acting is strong, dialog good, the sets and costuming some of the most thorough I've ever seen. Women have to take off their clip earring before speaking on the telephone. They leave lipstick on the edge of their Russel Wright coffee cup. Children stand in fear of adults doing things they don't understand, and often do NOT get explanations. THEY learn from behaviors.

This movie should be shown to every White person over the age of 16! The reason I say that is because it tells the cold, hard truth of what Blacks had to go through back in the 60's and it's not sugarcoated at all. It's not being said to make people feel guilty over something that they probably never took part in, but to educate people in what most public school systems DON'T teach about. As someone of primarily Native American descent who considers themselves pretty educated about Black history, I myself was very shocked and saddened at the brutality that Black Americans had to face (and still do at times). A picture (or movie) is worth a thousand words. This movie would be educational to everyone who views it. I would definitely recommend this movie to others.

Just rewatched this movie on YouTube. Taking place during the bus boycott of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, maid Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg) resolves to walk but her employer Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek) decides to drive her for at least a couple of days of the week to her house. I'll stop there and just say this was quite an inspiring, if intense, drama about how oppressive it could be during that time if you were not only the wrong color but also the wrong gender, that is, if you weren't a white male. I mean, the way Miriam's husband Norman (Dwight Schultz) and his younger brother Tunker (Dylan Baker) felt threatened by the whole thing makes one wonder. And the way Odessa's teen kids, Selma (Erika Alexander) and Theodore (Richard Habersham) were almost completely defeated by those white teen boys definitely gave me a pause. Not to mention how openly bigoted Miriam's mother (Gleaves Azar) said her opinion in front of the help was so blatantly appalling to see. What gives one hope is not only the way Miriam and Odessa communicate with each other, but also the way the narration of the grown Thompson daughter Mary Catherine (voice of Mary Steenburgen, Lexi Randall as a child) assures us how poignantly inspiring the whole time was. So on that note, The Long Walk Home gets a high recommendation from me. P.S. Ving Rhames-several years before his star-making turn in Pulp Fiction-portrays Odessa's husband Herbert with hair. Richard Habersham was Eddie in Do the Right Thing the year before. Younger brother Franklin was played by Jason Weaver who would later be the singing voice of Young Simba in The Lion King. He's also, like me, a Chicago native. And Erika Alexander would become Cousin Pam on "The Cosby Show" after making this.

I saw this film by chance, was flipping through the movie channels one day and the description of it appealed to me. Goldberg is absolutely superb in this powerful film showing what it was like for black people at that time in Montgomery, Alabama. A good lesson to young people, or any person that does not fully know what black people had to put up with.

The real life, 1955, bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama provides the backdrop for this fictional story about an upper middle class white homemaker named Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek) who gradually becomes disenchanted with racial segregation. Her changed attitude comes about as a direct result of her Black maid, a woman of deep moral principles named Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg).

Odessa normally would take the bus to work. But she supports the boycott, and therefore chooses to walk the long distance from her shabby house to the manicured, suburban Thompson home. Yet, despite several incidences wherein Southern whites display their hatred of the boycott and of Blacks in general, Odessa, with the support of her own family and her religious faith, maintains a respectful and thoughtful attitude toward Miriam and the Thompson family. The story is told in retrospect, from the viewpoint of Miriam's daughter, Mary Catherine (Lexi Randall), who was seven years old at the time.

There is nothing subtle about this slow paced story. It is forceful and frank. The overt hatred by Southern whites toward Blacks is palpable. In no character is this odious racial superiority more evident than in Miriam's cigar chomping brother-in-law, Tunker (well played by Dylan Baker).

But Miriam and Odessa relate to each other as individuals, not as members of some group. Perceptive and sensitive, Miriam comes to understand that Southern racist attitudes, those feelings and emotions she grew up with, are passed down through generations. "You just don't question it", she tells Odessa, apologetically.

Both Miriam and Odessa are multi-dimensional and sufficiently unique to give the story depth of characterization. The acting is fine. Whoopi Goldberg in particular gives a great performance, along with the always reliable Sissy Spacek. The film's production design and period costumes are credible. Lighting is subdued. I liked the background gospel music, but I could have wished for even more. "We're Marching To Zion" not only is a great gospel hymn; it's also the film's theme.

Technically well made, "The Long Walk Home" has value mostly as historical perspective on an important contemporary social issue. As such, the film's message is just as relevant now as it was fifty years ago.