Origin review: Admirable race story has compelling docudrama realism

Now showing; Cert 12A

Ava DuVernay's 'Origin' is an ambitious but imperfect outing

Hilary White

Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) is a Pulitzer-winning journalist who is taking some downtime from writing in order to care for her ailing mother (Emily Yancy). She is ably supported in the task by white husband Brett (Jon Bernthal), but is still reluctant to commit when she runs into an editor who pleads with her to take on a story that has recently broken.

It concerns the stalking and shooting of an unarmed black youth by a Hispanic man in a white neighbourhood. Isabel knows that if she goes for it, it will become all-consuming ­especially as the incident involves an issue very close to her heart – race in America.