Andre Gaines Reimagines Baraka’s Dutchman in Ambitious First Narrative Feature

Overview

• Andre Gaines moves from documentaries to fiction with The Dutchman, adapting Amiri Baraka’s play as his first narrative feature.
• The film enlarges the story beyond the subway into private spaces and a Harlem political event, layering a mystical, meta framing device around the central encounter.
• The principal cast features André Holland as Clay, Kate Mara as Lula, Zazie Beetz as Kaya, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Dr. Amiri, and Aldis Hodge as Warren.
• Critics note the production references the 1966 screen version and leans on audience familiarity, with TheWrap calling the concept audacious but the execution blunt and confusing.
• RogerEbert.com praises the ambition and performances yet faults thin characterization of Black women, citing Kaya as underdeveloped despite Beetz’s work.