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The Big Picture

The biopic genre has been a popular one in the film industry for decades, particularly when the central figure is relevant to current events. The Presidency of Barack Obama certainly had a seismic impact on the entertainment world, so it should not come as a surprise that a biopic about the 44th American President was released right before he left office. Vikram Gandhis biopic Barry featured a breakout performance by Devon Terrell as a young Obama during his years studying at Columbia University. While Terrells performance certainly captured the tenacity and charisma of the future world leader, Barry also featured an early performance by Anya Taylor-Joy as Obamas love interest, Charlotte Baughman.

Taylor-Joy is now one of the most widely recognized stars in the world, as the unexpected success of The Queens Gambit on Netflix turned her into a household name. She is currently headlining George Miller's action-packed sequel, Furiosa, which is in theaters now. Yet, Barry was released when Taylor-Joy was still relatively new to the industry, as Barry came just one year after her breakout role in the A24 horror movie, The Witch. Appearing in a film about such an important political and cultural figure comes with a lot of responsibility. Taylor-Joy rose to the challenge, giving a mature and affecting performance that made Barry a stronger film.

A film that focuses on the early life of Barack Obama, depicting his experiences as a college student in New York City. The story highlights his journey of self-discovery as he grapples with issues of race, identity, and purpose. Through various relationships and encounters, the film provides insight into the challenges and influences that helped shape the man who would become the 44th President of the United States.

Filmmakers have spent decades trying to tell stories about real American Presidents, and often fail to condense the totality of their achievements into a singular narrative. Thankfully, Gandhi didnt intend to make a film about Obamas entire life, as there are relatively few mentions of his politics. Barry is a coming-of-age story about Obama coming to grips with his identity and future as he realizes that the country is not set up for African Americans to succeed. As Obama begins his studies at Columbia University, he begins to develop the code of ethics that would later come to define his Presidency. While Barry certainly hints at the growth of Obamas ideologies in a way that foreshadows his future achievements, its far more focused on his personal growth.

While Terrell manages to capture the charisma and intelligence essential to playing Obama, Taylor-Joy gives a necessary perspective to the film as the future Presidents first girlfriend. While the character herself is fictional, she was modeled after various young women that Obama dated while in school. Merging multiple sources of inspiration could have led to an unbalanced performance, but Taylor-Joy gives a specificity to Charlottes ambitions that makes the character come alive as her own person. Its evident through the way that she discusses social activism that helping others is her primary motivation for studying law; this shared empathy for people of different backgrounds initially makes Obama and Charlotte such a compelling couple. Their mutual interest in civic responsibility and the growth of legacy speaks to the idealism that comes with being a college student who is starting to make their way in the world.

Its easy to get lost in Barry as a coming-of-age drama, but Terrell and Taylor-Joy are able to portray a couple that clearly doesnt end up together. Both Terrell and Taylor-Joy are able to indicate in their performances that while Obama and Charlotte teach each other important lessons, theyre ultimately on different paths. Barry then works as a sort of prequel to Southside With You, released the same year, which chronicles Obamas romance with the future First Lady Michelle Obama. Barry ends with the couple breaking up, but they don't hold any animosity towards each other; Terrell and Charlotte are able to make this mature narrative beat effective by showing how both characters have grown and diverged onto different journeys.

Although the romance between Obama and Charlotte is the films primary focus, Barry analyzes how social and class differences are relevant to the central relationship. Charlotte is more than happy to introduce Obama to her family, as she takes pride in coming from a lineage of active educational enthusiasts. Comparatively, Obamas family life was far more complicated, making him more hesitant to discuss his complex relationship with his father. This provides an interesting point of friction within their relationship; despite her inherently empathetic qualities, Charlotte can never fully relate to Obamas experience. Taylor-Joy shows how Charlotte is inherently privileged, even if shes unaware of it.

Barry tackles the challenges that a mixed-race couple faces in the 1980s, with a particular amount of attention paid to the perception of their classmates at Columbia University. Despite claiming to be a forward-thinking institution, Columbia is built on a white, idealized version of the American experience that puts several barriers on Obamas path. While Terrell does a great job of showing the latent struggles that Obama goes through, Taylor-Joy is also strong at showing Charlottes fight to prove that her love is sincere. Despite the initial support she receives from her family and friends, Charlottes relationship with Obama is never treated as entirely legitimate by a community expecting her to move on.

Although her physical limits were stretched in films like Furiosa and The New Mutants, Barry gave Taylor-Joy one of the most challenging roles of her career. Charlotte could've easily come off as an ideological mouthpiece who serves no purpose but to advance Obamas character arc, but Taylor-Joy is able to make Charlottes passions and motivations feel legitimate, even though they dont directly parallel true events. Barry is one of the more underrated original dramas released by Netflix, as it was distributed in an era where the streaming service rarely put out their new releases in theaters. While it may be destined to be lost in Netflixs vast library forever, Barry is a worthwhile watch for fans of Taylor-Joys interested in seeing one of her most unique and understated performances.

Barry is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

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The rest is here:
Anya Taylor-Joy Played Young Barack Obama's Girlfriend in This Netflix Drama - Collider