Native Son is an imperfect but mesmerizing adaptation of Richard Wright's classic novel; The material here is so good, and Sanders is so magnetic; It's always a relief and a joy to see a distinctive cinematic vision working itself out on screen
Ashton Sanders has an elusive kind of quicksilver presence; sometimes he's little boy, gentle and funny and kind; sometimes a grown man with nothing behind his eyes but rage or a hard blankness
Ashton Sanders gives a poetic performance; "Native Son" is a drama of vibrant moodiness, and Matthew Libatique's cinematography lends it a hot sensual street glow
a gut-punch of a debut that examines race relations in America with unabashed force, Johnson's present-day interpretation proves, disgracefully, how pertinent Wright's text remains
"Native Son" is an inarguable accomplishment, both thematically and visually; Rashid Johnson conjures up such an intoxicating atmosphere that both his imagery and Ashton Sanders' spellbinding performance will haunt you regardless
