Rashid Johnson’s Native Son

Why the Art and Design Details of Rashid Johnson’s Native Son Matter

The 2019 adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic novel, with production design by Akin McKenzie, feels like a complete aesthetic reimagining of Wright’s 20th-century source material. In his new film Native Son, first-time director Rashid Johnson offers a bold, modern-day take on Richard Wright’s classic novel published in 1940. Set in Chicago and adapted for the screen by Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Susan-Lori Parks, lead character Bigger Thomas — played by Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders in an understated performance — takes a life-changing step up the socioeconomic ladder when the wealthy Dalton family hires him as their full-time driver. But as Bigger adjusts to his new life in the ultra-rich white world the Daltons inhabit, things take a sharp turn, sending his life into turmoil.

https://hyperallergic.com/493706/native-son-rashid-johnson-akin-mckenzie/