--- title: "I Am Not Your Negro" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/i-am-not-your-negro" fi1m_score: 85 critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 23 published: "2026-09-17T05:26:17.610350+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T05:26:53.848952+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # I Am Not Your Negro (2017) Directed by Raoul Peck · 1h 33m · MPA R · Documentary **Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 87 from 23 reviews *In a sentence:* Baldwin died with thirty pages written; the rest of the country is still catching up > Raoul Peck gives James Baldwin the last word on America, and Samuel L. Jackson reads it as if he already knows nobody will listen. A hard, exact, beautifully cut film, weakened only when Peck adds a picture to a point Baldwin has already made. ## Synopsis In 1979 James Baldwin writes to his literary agent proposing a book, *Remember This House*, about three friends murdered inside five years: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. He dies in 1987 having written thirty pages. Raoul Peck takes those pages, along with Baldwin’s essays, letters and television appearances, and builds a film in which no voice is heard but Baldwin’s own. Samuel L. Jackson reads the unfinished text; archive footage supplies Baldwin himself, on chat-show sofas and debating platforms in the 1960s. Around him Peck cuts Hollywood clips, newsreel of marches and police dogs, and present-day street footage, asking whether the country Baldwin described has changed at all. ## Review In 1979 James Baldwin wrote to his agent proposing a book about Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., three men he knew and outlived. He died in 1987 with thirty pages of it done. Raoul Peck has taken those pages, added Baldwin’s essays and letters, and made a film in which nobody speaks except Baldwin. Samuel L. Jackson reads the text; the archive supplies the man. It is superbly assembled, and it has one flaw, which is that Peck sometimes does not trust the words to land on their own. Jackson does not impersonate Baldwin. He reads low and slow, close to the microphone, with none of the bark he has traded on for thirty years, so that when Baldwin’s real voice arrives in a clip the difference is plain. Baldwin talked fast, in long turning sentences with a small laugh at the end of them. Jackson sounds like a man who read the sentence twice before he said it aloud. That gap is the film’s structure: one Baldwin alive and arguing, another looking back over his shoulder, and Jackson has the sense to stay out of the way of both. The footage of Baldwin himself is where the film got to us. There is a 1968 appearance on *The Dick Cavett Show* in which an academic on the sofa beside him asks, in effect, why he insists on bringing race into everything, and Baldwin answers him in a single unbroken paragraph, without raising his voice, that the man cannot follow. We sat very still through it. It was not the argument, which Baldwin had clearly made a hundred times; it was that he was willing to make it again, patiently, to someone who was never going to hear it, and that we knew how the next fifty years would go. Alexandra Strauss’s editing is the other reason to see it. Her best sequence takes Baldwin’s writing about Hollywood and lays it against the films: Doris Day, John Wayne, Sidney Poitier chained to Tony Curtis in *The Defiant Ones*, Rod Steiger chewing gum in *In the Heat of the Night*. Baldwin’s point, that these pictures taught white Americans a version of themselves and taught Black Americans they were not in the story, is made by the cuts rather than the narration. Billy Dee Williams turns up too, from the period Baldwin spent in Los Angeles trying to write a Malcolm X screenplay, and the scene is a small comedy about what a studio will and will not buy. The present-day material is less sure. Turner Ross, Bill Ross and Henry Adebonojo shot new footage of American streets, and Peck cuts Birmingham police dogs against Ferguson police lines, Baldwin on the march against protesters with their phones raised. Once, it is a shock. By the third or fourth time the film is saying what Baldwin has just said, and saying it with pictures that are blunter than his prose. Alexei Aigui’s score does something similar, sitting under Jackson’s voice with strings and a slow pulse when the voice alone would carry. There are also two or three interludes of advertising imagery and bright consumer colour that feel like a different, angrier film has wandered in. Peck made *Lumumba* (2000), and he has always been a director who trusts an argument more than a scene. Here the argument is someone else’s, and the discipline of using only Baldwin’s words has done him good; the film is 93 minutes and nearly all of them count. It is not a biography. You will not learn where Baldwin was born or whom he loved. You will learn what he thought, in the order he thought it, and that turns out to be the more useful thing. See it, and see it with the sound up and the phone in another room. The certificate is 12A, which is right; there is footage of a lynching and there are the photographs from Ferguson, but nothing in it is as hard to sit through as Baldwin’s calm. *Fi1m score 85, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Every one of the 23 reviews is positive, and the praise gathers in the same places. Critics agree that Raoul Peck’s decision to draw the narration entirely from James Baldwin’s own writing is what gives the film its force, and Samuel L. Jackson’s reading is singled out again and again, with several calling it among his best work. The editing draws almost as much admiration: archive footage of the civil rights era cut against recent protests, and a passage picking apart Hollywood’s racial stereotypes, are the sequences most often named. The reservations are few and small. The Hollywood Reporter finds the loose structure occasionally confusing, and The Guardian notes one flourish that imitates Baldwin’s anger without his elegance. A handful of reviews, Screen Daily and Film Comment among them, find the film despairing and wearying rather than rousing, though they admire it all the same. The spread is narrow: nobody dissents from the view that this is a serious, urgent piece of work. ### Reviews we read (23) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (5/5): The critic hails the documentary as masterful in addressing the American racial divide past and present. It singles out Samuel L. Jackson's narration as his finest performance, deepening the emotional frustration with its resigned delivery. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/i-am-not-your-negro) - **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (90/100, inferred): The review calls the film a brilliant essay that imagines Baldwin's unfinished book and weaves his words with images to examine race in America. It highlights the film's kaleidoscopic style and contemporary resonance as one of the year's most important works. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/i-am-not-your-negro-review-james-baldwin-raoul-peck-oscar-1201777014/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (90/100, inferred): The film is a mesmerizing cinematic experience that uses every element of film language to create a powerful, painful essay on America’s racial crisis that remains urgently relevant. Turan singles out the opening montage linking Baldwin’s era to contemporary events like Ferguson as revealing the film’s essence. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-not-your-negro-review-20161205-story.html) - **Sight and Sound**, Violet Lucca (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Raoul Peck's fluid documentary for using James Baldwin's timeless anger to animate a history of the black experience in America. It singles out the montage that deconstructs Hollywood stereotypes, racial forgiveness tropes and the function of the N-word. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/i-am-not-your-negro-review-race-rage-american-dream) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (A-): The critic praises the documentary for using Baldwin's eloquent words to compelling effect, creating a world-weary tone that underscores ongoing racial issues. It notes the film's strengths in narration and relevance to current events while acknowledging some challenging visuals. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/i-am-not-your-negro-turns-an-abandoned-james-baldwin-bo-1798189838) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (NYT Critic’s Pick): The film is a thrilling posthumous collaboration between Peck and Baldwin that functions as both an introduction to the writer’s work and an advanced seminar in racial politics. It draws entirely on Baldwin’s words (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) to connect the assassinations of Evers, Malcolm X and King to contemporary American life. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/movies/review-i-am-not-your-negro-review-james-baldwin.html) - **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★★☆): The critic describes Raoul Peck’s lyrical documentary as one that should have won its Oscar nomination, praising how it joins the dots in US racism and civil rights history through Baldwin’s own wise and witty words read by Samuel L. Jackson. It highlights the film’s use of archive clips and its timely feel. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/i-am-not-your-negro-h9vdk50wr) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (90/100, inferred): Peck’s transcendent documentary is a hypnotic collage that lets viewers live inside Baldwin’s mind through his words and a kaleidoscope of archival and film clips. Gleiberman praises the way it conveys Baldwin’s rejection of liberal platitudes and his vision of racism as a crisis of the American spirit. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/i-am-not-your-negro-review-new-york-film-festival-james-baldwin-1201876756/) - **Empire**, Jimi Famurewa (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as an unflinching and vital documentary that powerfully connects Baldwin’s words on race to contemporary events. Peck’s use of archive material, modern footage and Jackson’s narration is singled out for holding the film together despite its unrelenting anger. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/negro-review/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film an outstanding, vivid and vital documentary that dramatises Baldwin’s unfinished memoir through Samuel L. Jackson’s narration and a punchy montage of historical footage. It singles out Baldwin’s eloquent analysis of race and culture for praise while noting a minor flourish that approximates his anger but lacks elegance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/apr/07/i-am-not-your-negro-review-james-baldwin-raoul-peck-documentary) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (85/100, inferred): Peck’s incisive documentary derives its voice-over entirely from Baldwin’s writings and pairs them with archival footage to trace the gap between legal desegregation and ongoing white supremacy. The film highlights Baldwin’s prophetic analysis of American consciousness and its painful relevance to present-day events. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/i-am-not-your-negro) - **Vulture** (85/100, inferred): The review finds the film timeless, with Baldwin's polemical yet unifying words on race feeling freshly resonant. It singles out the effective use of archival footage and the film's loose structure that connects past and present injustices. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/01/movie-review-i-am-not-your-negro-is-timeless.html) - **Little White Lies**, Matthew Eng (4/4/4): The critic calls Peck's film essay magnificent and an exhilarating, impressionistic treatment of James Baldwin. It singles out the film's laser-like precision in reclaiming Baldwin's words and spotlight while seeing beyond its selected historical moment. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/i-am-not-your-negro) - **Slant Magazine**, Clayton Dillard (80/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as a searing examination of America's racist history through Baldwin's notes and words, rejecting any concessions to Western democracy's flaws. It praises the montage linking past and present while noting Baldwin's personal insights into cultural propaganda. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/i-am-not-your-negro/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Deborah Young (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a searing indictment of racial prejudice in America, using Baldwin's words to link three assassinated leaders to ongoing social issues. It notes the film's dynamic visuals and timely relevance but finds the loose structure occasionally confusing. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/i-am-not-your-negro-931087/) - **Film Comment**, Andrew Chan (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the documentary pained and painful as it gives new voice to James Baldwin on race. Peck balances Baldwin’s impassioned words with archival footage and images to indict cinema and American racism, evoking spiritual weariness without easy resolution or nostalgia. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/i-am-not-your-negro-raoul-peck/) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film despairing and angry in equal measure, forcefully arguing that America has not evolved in race relations. It singles out the deft pairing of historical police brutality footage with recent protests to illustrate Baldwin's still-valid fears. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/i-am-not-your-negro-review/5109916.article) - **HeyUGuys**, Stefan Pape (5/5): The film is an accomplished and moving documentary that powerfully conveys James Baldwin's words on race in America, using narration and footage to highlight ongoing inequality and relevance to current events. The critic praises Baldwin's eloquent writing as the core strength while noting Peck's effective use of modern clips to underscore how little has changed. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/i-am-not-your-negro-review/) - **Consequence** (A): Peck superbly reconstructs the nuance and passion of James Baldwin's work in this essay-like documentary. The film is praised for its precise editing, Samuel L. Jackson's narration, and its timeless relevance to race relations. [Read](https://consequence.net/2017/02/film-review-i-am-not-your-negro/) - **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (90/100, inferred): Peck's documentary illuminates Baldwin's words through a rich tapestry of archival footage, film clips, and images that jolt awareness of America's racial history and its present. The critic highlights the film's exposure of simplistic national narratives and Baldwin's profound insights on identity, history, and moral apathy. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/i-am-not-your-negro-2016-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) - **Paste**, Shannon M. Houston (9.8): Peck creates an intimate experience with Baldwin by focusing on his unfinished book and resisting standard documentary formats. The film is celebrated for centering Baldwin's words and critiquing Hollywood's racial myths while connecting to contemporary issues. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/james-baldwin/essential-movie-i-am-not-your-negro) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (90/100, inferred): Peck's documentary brilliantly channels Baldwin's righteous antagonism through montage and archival footage. It restores a sense of resistance and urgency to Baldwin's ideas, making them feel alive and essential. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2017/02/02/movies/i-am-not-your-negro-raoul-peck-oscar-nomination-james-baldwin-d53738d8e0ca) - **The Wrap** (90/100, inferred): The critic urges viewers to see this extraordinary documentary, calling it a great work of cinema that addresses America's past, present, and future on race in a vital way every citizen should experience. Peck's film is praised for delivering Baldwin's angry, horrific, yet poetic words in a captivating and gorgeous manner, with Samuel L. Jackson's narration singled out as one of the actor's greatest performances. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/i-am-not-your-negro-review-james-baldwin-oscar-samuel-l-jackson/) ## Details - **Director:** Raoul Peck - **Director:** Raoul Peck - **Writer:** James Baldwin - **Cinematography:** Turner Ross, Bill Ross, Henry Adebonojo - **Editor:** Alexandra Strauss - **Music:** Alexei Aigui - **Producer:** Hébert Peck, Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety - **Cast:** Samuel L. Jackson as Narrator (voice); James Baldwin as Self (archive footage); Martin Luther King Jr. as Self (archive footage); Malcolm X as Self (archive footage); Arnold Schwarzenegger as Self (archive footage); Billy Dee Williams as Self (archive footage); Rod Steiger as Self (archive footage) - **Runtime:** 1h 33m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 3 February 2017 - **Genres:** Documentary - **Budget:** $1 million - **Box office:** $7 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNUYdgIyaPM ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, sd - Apple TV: buy $9.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NZ, PH, RO, SE, SG, UA, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - César Award for Best Documentary Film 2018: César Award for Best Documentary Film (won) ## If you liked this - *The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975* (2011): Swedish television footage of the movement, found in a basement and cut with restraint. - *13th* (2016): Ava DuVernay follows the same line from slavery to the prison yard, with more talking heads. - *Concerning Violence* (2014): Fanon’s words, Lauryn Hill’s voice, colonial Africa on film; the same method, harder edges. - *Sans Soleil* (1983), Fi1m 82: Chris Marker’s essay film, the form Peck is working in at its most free. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sans-soleil.md) - *Take This Hammer* (1963): Baldwin walks San Francisco for an hour and listens; the raw material, unmediated. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. 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