Rebecca Hall's 'Passing': A Quiet Reckoning with Race, Identity, and Survival

How far are you willing to go to be accepted?

In the age of racial injustice and discrimination, one questions the importance of accepting one’s identity if it jeopardizes one's safety. In Passing (2021), Rebecca Hall asks the audience to look into the true lives of two racially ambiguous women and their stories. Passing is based on a book by the same name written by American author Nella Larsen. The book challenges the audience’s perspective on racial injustice and identity regarding passing and assimilation. The film’s discussion of the impacts of racial inequality in society relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Reduced Inequalities.

As a film, Passing explores the concept of assimilation in the Roaring 20s and how racially ambiguous Black people or people of colour adapt their public identities to survive in a world dominated by white standards. The film opens with ambient sound and black-and-white framing as we follow Irene (Tessa Thompson) on her shopping trip in 1920s New York. Irene’s body language is stiff. Her head is bowed as if shielding her true identity from prying eyes while she shops and sips her tea. The audience can sense Irene’s discomfort with her body language, which reflects the effects of segregation and racial prejudice pervasive in the 20th century.

Despite the abolition of slavery in 1865, segregation in the South and Jim Crow laws led to the Great Migration of African Americans to Northern areas, such as Chicago, California and New York. The effects of racism in the South in post-segregation America affected many African Americans in the North, as displayed by the microaggressions Irene faced during her shopping trip. Rebecca Hall’s choice to introduce Irene’s experience with diegetic sound creates an immersive environment for the audience to witness the lives of Black people in the 1920s.

Irene and Clare’s racial ambiguity plays different key roles in the film. Clare (Ruth Negga) is white-passing, a fact that she used to assume a caucasian identity for ‘certain benefits’. In the film, Clare implies that these benefits include better education, acceptance and financial opportunity. In her words, “Who doesn’t like a little more money?” Irene, however, uses her racial ambiguity for safety. Irene knows that if she passes for a ‘non-coloured’ person, she will not face as much harassment. However, the aggressions that both women face are wildly different. The racism that Clare faces is not targeted at her directly, but mostly in passing as lighthearted jokes. In the first 15 minutes of the film and the third chapter of the book, Clare’s husband, Jack “John” Bellew, reveals that he calls Clare a racial slur as a pet name. John nonchalantly explains the name's origins to Irene,

“When we were first married, this woman was as white as a lily. But as the years go by, she seems to be getting darker and darker. So I told her, ‘If you don’t look out, you’ll wake up one morning and find that you’ve turned into a n—r'.”

Irene’s passing, however, allowed her to be safe from John’s racist remarks, as he did not notice her status as a coloured person while outwardly admitting that he ‘hates black people’. The ambiguity of their races is further solidified by Hall’s lack of use of colour in the film, creating an equal plane of perception for all the subjects.

Passing also showcases the beauty and richness of black culture and how assimilation has created environments where people abandon their heritage. Within the context of the film, Clare’s demeanour during her participation in parties and events with majority ‘coloured’ guests demonstrates how intentionally she has alienated herself from her roots. For all intents and purposes, Clare Bellew interacts with her environment as a white woman. The Golden Age of Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance were pioneered by African American communities. In her self-alienation, Clare extricates herself from this important facet of African American life.

With racial tensions high and the resurfacing of the Klu Klux Klan in the 1920s, being a person of colour had more risks than benefits. Clare’s identity as a ‘white woman’ separates her from danger, as she can still participate in Black culture as shown in the film, without the dangers of hate groups and racism. Irene disagrees with this, however, as she sees Clare’s racial mask as selfish. “You have a child, Clare. It’s not a matter of your own safety,” Irene says in the film, to which Clare replies, “I think being a mother is the cruellest thing in the world.”

In the book, Larsen elaborates on Irene’s opinion, as she explains the dangerous situation Clare has created for her child with her racist husband. Irene’s monologue further touches on their responsibility as mothers, as the safety of Clare's daughter is called into question given the possibility that her husband discovers her true identity.

Interracial children faced great racial difficulties in the 1920s and were often dehumanized, as white people saw them as the “degenerate race.” Historians such as George M. Fredrickson have observed that, at the time, biracial children had high ambition due to their “White Blood” and animalistic and savage qualities from their “Black Blood.” According to author J. C. Furnas, mixed-race women were desired in the slave market due to their proximity to white female attractiveness.

The film also discusses aspects of migration. Irene and her husband, Brian Redfield, discuss the potential of relocating as a family for their safety, given a recent lynching. Irene shares hopes to relocate to Brazil, where she can be ‘accepted’ as a racially ambiguous woman. African Americans in their 20s have historically migrated to places with less racial discrimination for personal safety. Brazil was specifically considered to be a land of opportunity for people of colour in the 1920s, though the country's “whites-only” immigration policy prevented them from migrating. 

Clare’s ‘white’ identity presents limitations and risks. In both the book and the film, the facade that she maintains leads to her demise. Rebecca Hall took small liberties in the film by making her husband more empathetic to her betrayal rather than hateful. John’s reaction in the book is more violent, leaving readers certain that Clare’s eventual death was caused by her husband. The film, however, attaches ambiguity to her death, as audiences are encouraged to consider whether Clare’s death is caused by Irene’s jealousy, by John’s anger about her betrayal, or by Clare herself as self-preservation. In an interview with the American Film Institute, Rebecca Hall states that she hopes her audiences will have their own perceptions of the film, as the struggles of the characters are multifaceted.

Passing is a masterclass in creating an intriguing and historically accurate portrayal of the lives of people of colour in the Roaring 20s. It allows audiences to immerse themselves in the honest experiences of two African American women in 1920s America.