Barry Jenkins Honors the Legacy of His Ancestors in Moving Epic
Bob Verini At a time of unprecedented interest in sorting out America’s tortured racial past, Amazon Prime Video’s “The Underground Railroad” offers a unique contribution to the conversation. The adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller tells the saga of Cora, a runaway, and her dogged pursuer, bounty hunter Arnold Ridgeway, through a blend of uncompromising realism and otherworldly imagery. On the surface, the film’s pre-Civil War South comes right out of our collective memory.