Parents' Guide to The Subject

The first part of The Subject is entertaining enough; it starts out like a slow-simmering drama. But it really picks up speed and takes a turn toward becoming a micro-thriller after the first hour. And while Biggs turns in an amazing performance as a man who doesn't recognize his own racial or financial privilege until it's nearly too late, the performance to watch for is Ellis as a mother who needs to know more about her son's death.

The film works best when it's a pressure cooker about racial tensions, analyzing how one group of people can feel empowered to overlook another group and not realize how inhumanely they're acting toward others. Ellis brings raw humanity to her character and the people her character represents: the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the oppressed, who want a way to succeed like everyone else. In fact, Ellis' scenes outshine most of the film. That's both a good thing, in that it shows her vast talent, and a bad thing, in that it eclipses other parts of Biggs' performance, which does showcase Phil's empathy despite a huge lapse in judgment. But overall, The Subject is a film worth watching if you're interested in media that tackles thorny issues facing U.S. society.