2024 Show
Jim Hecht · United States of America · English
This miniseries about Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton succeeds as a heist, but fails as a meaningful biopic
As a heist story, The Big Cigar is a fast-paced caper that’s easy on the eyes. It’s slickly edited and richly designed, and the actors turn in exciting performances that make you want to tune in. But as a biopic of a complex man, The Big Cigar is confounding at best and frustrating at worst. It zips through many things that Newton publicly struggled with, including drug addiction and the very allegation that caused him to flee to Cuba in the first place. Though it brings up important discussions about revolutionary struggle and emancipation, it’s ultimately more interested in the heist itself, which while admittedly engaging, feels less urgent than the events surrounding Newton’s real life.
Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton enlists an unlikely ally—Hollywood producer Bert Schneider—to elude an FBI manhunt and escape to Cuba.
"There’s one impeccable element: André Holland. Perfectly cast and delivering a performance filled with equal parts fear, anger, and tenderness... [Holland] again commands each scene with a grounded, raw charisma."
— Ben Travers
Loosely based on true events, The Big Cigar follows Huey P. Newton (André Holland) as he flees from California to Cuba with the help of bigshot Hollywood producer Bert Schneider (Alessandro Nivola).
Jumping back and forth between multiple timelines can be a creative way to tell a story in some instances. Other times, it can be painfully annoying, which is sadly the case here. Also, if the show was genuinely interested in telling this story from the Black Panthers' perspective, then Gwen Fontaine's character (played by Tiffany Boone) deserved better than this.
It tries so hard to steer clear from being another Hollywood-glorified white savior story, that it ends up being that exact same thing it avoids.
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
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