Imagine a good first date. Now imagine one so great it changes the course of history. Southside With You is that amazing date.
Written and directed by Richard Tanne, Southside With You follows the fateful first date of President Barack Obama played by Parker Sawyers and Michelle Robinson played by Tika Sumpter. This seemingly average day in 1989 in the Southside of Chicago not only recreated the chemistry between the future power couple, it captured the simultaneous beauty and despair of Chicago.
Michelle is Barack’s superior at a law firm in Chicago and as one of the only minorities at the firm, along with the added challenges of being a woman, Michelle is reluctant to engage in any romantic relationship with him. Under the pretense of a pseudo town hall meeting, Barack convinces Michelle to spend the day with him and the two immerse themselves in the cultural attractions of Chicago. As the two visit the Art Institute of Chicago, walk through the park, see Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, and get a drink we see each individual’s inner conflicts as representative of Chicago’s greater struggles. Michelle is torn between her well-paying job at a law firm where she has no voice on cases she doesn’t care for, but helps support her family and pro bono cases for impoverished minorities that actually mean something to her.
Barack is insistent on having a complete life, something he feels his father did not have and surpassing his father as best he can. Together the two illuminate each other’s grievances which neither take positively. At the community meeting we see a glimpse of the beginnings of Obama as a public figure for the people, which is what undoubtedly draws Michelle to him. While neither come from wealthy backgrounds, both have had educations that imply privilege and yet both strive to alleviate the struggles of their fellow minorities. While we all may know how the story ends, it was interesting to see how without each other as a driving force, Obama might not have been our first African-American president.
The film hits theaters this Friday.