Black Nativity (2013)
1h 33m | PG-13
A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey.
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Studio: Malvern Pictures
Genre: Music, Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Forest Whitaker
as Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Angela Bassett
as Aretha Cobbs
Jennifer Hudson
as Naima
Tyrese Gibson
as Loot / Tyson
Jacob Latimore
as Langston
Mary J. Blige
as Platinum Fro
Reviews
I was, for the most part, feeling pleasant enough about this... until that ending. It's not that <em>'Black Nativity'</em> ends badly, it's just so incredibly forced and cringeworthy. It's a Christmas film so I guess I could cut it some slack, but I feel it could've concluded things much better. Some of the character decisions felt odd at times, also. One of the reasons as to why I was actually finding this satisfactory throughout is the cast - loads of recognisable and likeable faces. Forest Whitaker (Cornell) is honestly great, his performance is the only one I'd class as anything over 'good'. Jacob Latimore (Langston) and Angela Bassett (Aretha) are the best of the rest, though I always like watching <em>'Fast & Furious'</em> star Tyrese Gibson act too. All in all, nothing positive or negative... just average.