X
- 2016
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 1 h 44 m
- 2016
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 1 h 44 m
Summary A young Barack Obama, known to his friends as Barry, arrives in New York City in the fall of 1981 to begin his junior year at Columbia University. In a crime-ridden and racially charged environment, Barry finds himself pulled between various social spheres and struggles to maintain a series of increasingly strained relationships with his...
Directed By: Vikram Gandhi
Written By: Adam Mansbach
- 2016
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 1 h 44 m
- 2016
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 1 h 44 m
Barry
72
5.9
Summary A young Barack Obama, known to his friends as Barry, arrives in New York City in the fall of 1981 to begin his junior year at Columbia University. In a crime-ridden and racially charged environment, Barry finds himself pulled between various social spheres and struggles to maintain a series of increasingly strained relationships with his...
Directed By: Vikram Gandhi
Written By: Adam Mansbach
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
72
82% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
18% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
72
82% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
18% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Barry's questions are powerful whether asked by a future president or a future janitor. The script is great no matter who it's about — it's just that fewer curiosity-seekers would give it a watch were it about someone else.
The movie is rich on its own as a character piece about the difficulties of being bi-racial, especially at the very specific location of Columbia University.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 29 User Ratings
5.9
48% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
34% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
17% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 29 User Ratings
5.9
48% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
34% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
17% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
When it comes to my personal politics, one of the things at the forefront of my political identity is my admiration for the life and work of Barack Obama. So needless to say, going into his biopic Barry, I was excited. And I was let down, but also somehow given something better than I could have hoped for. Barry tells the story of a young Barack Obama going through university and the various trials and tribulations of that, while forming his political views. But if you’re watching this movie BECAUSE it’s Barack Obama, you’re going to be thoroughly let down, as I was. But if you want a well acted, well shot and well written tale of an African American man grappling with prejudice and privilege in the environment of a high end university, then this is the film for you. There are some really good discussions in this movie about race, where, unlike some films, a reasonable person could take either side, and when a film can pull that off it’s incredibly thought provoking. However, the movie is paced incredibly poorly, when it ends it feels like it’s the end of the 2nd act, and, though this may be my personal taste shining through, there were portions that were quite uninteresting. But overall, I would definitely recommend Barry to anyone who’s curious about the story.
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Barry emerges as an involving and credible portrait of a smart young man with a good deal of growing and learning yet to do.
Whereas the aforementioned Southside With You was a calm, romantic watch, this is a serious and refined drama which has the feel of a political firecracker.
It hasn’t always been easy trying to figure out what’s going through the mind of the 44th president of the United States, but Barry is a satisfyingly curious, honest attempt to make his inner struggle a beautiful part of this groundbreaking statesman’s biography.
Devon Terrell's performance as Barry is warming, always leading with empathy and a genuine smile, contemplative whenever not sharing his thoughts.
The writing, by Adam Mansbach, and direction, by Vikram Gandhi, are competent without being terribly sophisticated or daring. Terrell’s performance elevates the film, though.
Barry is a good film. Yes it has its flaws that are evident like a lot of the time it feels like its struggling to build a complete world around a person who we don't know much about at this point in his life. But despite this, the film takes us on a journey successfully, in that by the end I'm left thinking "I get it", or more importantly, "I get you, Barry".
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Netflix has production values down pat. Barry employs patient cinematography, lighting that compliments mood and tone, and Devon Terrell's Obama is spot on without being a caricature. However, the film's foundation is a faulty one. It cruises on the idea that despite the fact that Barack Obama is the most influential political figure of my generation, he still experienced that same raw journey living in the city that we all did. I kept wondering why the writers would think it would be shocking or provocative to show him drinking, smoking, and flirting. 90% of the experiences didn't seem worth talking about. Politically, Obama was represented with a few pieces of knowledge that we've known about him and expanded into soft, semi-clever, brief dialogue. It was as if the writer really didn't know enough about the man so to avoid misrepresentation they didn't include details and idiosyncrasies. Someone took a few pages of his college years and stretched it into and hour and half. The material was honestly quite dull for such an interesting guy. There are some people in the midwest who collect Elvis memorabilia. Their whole house is filled with tacky Elvis stuff everywhere. This is one for the Obama collectors.
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Awards
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Nomination
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 1 Nomination
Central Ohio Film Critics Association
• 1 Nomination
