Colman Domingo Set the Display screen on Hearth in Spike Lee’s Broadly Forgotten Cult Favourite

June 30, 2025

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Most working character actors by no means get near breaking into the mainstream, however then once more, most actors should not Colman Domingo. He was as soon as firmly ensconced within the territory of “that man,” popping up in small roles in movies like Lincoln or Selma or having a five-episode run in a cult traditional present like The Knick. However now he is a two-time Academy Award nominee for his work in Rustin and Sing Sing, a really in-demand pressure who continues to dazzle audiences together with his spectacular magnetism and thoughtful tenderness. If you happen to have a look at the arc of his profession and marvel the place his promise actually began to point out, I’d say have a look at Crimson Hook Summer time, an especially underseen Spike Lee joint that options Domingo in a small however important function that bursts off of the display with how explosive his efficiency is.

What Is ‘Crimson Hook Summer time’ About?

Colman Domingo in 'Red Hook Summer' — Picture by way of Variance Movies

In Crimson Hook Summer time, a younger boy named Flik (Jules Brown) spends the summer season together with his spiritual grandfather, the preacher Enoch (Clarke Peters), and learns precious classes about neighborhood, respecting the phrase of the Bible, in addition to the significance of supporting his household. He learns the exhausting means methods to love anyone that you do not actually like that a lot as he and his grandfather continuously butt heads over their totally different existence. What looks as if a easy morality lesson turns into massively sophisticated by the arrival of Blessing Rowe (Domingo), a daily customer to Enoch’s church, who normally sits quietly within the again and would not make his presence recognized. Nevertheless, throughout what was initially simply one other of Enoch’s sermons, when Enoch calls upon his parishioners to face ahead to admit their true emotions, Blessing steps as much as drop a staggering bombshell that basically adjustments the material of the narrative and offers Colman Domingo his first likelihood to really depart an impression, and it is a blistering one.

Colman Domingo’s Character Completely Alters the Narrative of ‘Crimson Hook Summer time’

Blessing initially appears to be gracious and appreciative of Enoch’s time as a preacher and speaks as if the 2 have a beautiful historical past collectively. However the extra he talks, the extra his genteel composure melts away into agonized rage, as he alleges that Enoch sexually abused him as a baby, utilizing his energy as a non secular mentor determine towards younger Blessing. He lambasts Enoch as a hypocrite and damns his soul to Hell, even making an attempt to bodily assault Enoch earlier than he is carried kicking and screaming out of the church by the opposite churchgoers, finally calming down as soon as he reaches the exit. That appears to be the tip of this traumatic episode, besides no, as a result of Blessing swiftly runs again inside to attempt to piledrive Enoch in entrance of all people, after which he is lastly thrown out of the church for good. It is a harrowing sequence, one in all such emotional significance that Spike chooses the second when Blessing initially walks down the church aisle to be when he implements his trademark shot the place an actor appears to be floating whereas transferring, a shot used to comparable impact in movies like Da 5 Bloods or Inside Man.

Colman Domingo Offers a Big Efficiency In a Small Function

Whereas directed with the identical heated verve that Spike Lee shot the enduring climax of Do the Proper Factor with, it is Colman Domingo’s ferocious and soulful efficiency that basically will get your blood boiling. The way in which he switches from calm and benevolent to nauseatingly infuriated to depleted and confused is nothing in need of mesmerizing, particularly since Spike nearly at all times shoots him in tight close-ups. Domingo constantly dances on the razor’s edge between respectable restraint and whole histrionic annihilation, and the ever-tightening rigidity between these two polarities is what drives the unstoppable engine of his power. Domingo is greater than worthy of being a member of the Spike Lee Corridor of Fame of Impassioned Speeches, proper alongside Edward Norton‘s post-9/11 time capsule screed of hatred in twenty fifth Hour or any of Denzel Washington‘s monologues in Malcolm X.

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At this level in his profession, Colman Domingo had by no means had a job that really let him personal a scene, though he’d beforehand labored in an earlier Spike Lee movie, Miracle at St. Anna, in a minor walk-on function. We now know that he is the type of actor who at all times makes you sit up straighter and lean nearer to be sure to catch each little nuance in what he is doing. I, for one, will always remember how terrifying he felt in Zola, and the way he was capable of counsel a lot historical past simply in how he modifies his accent at sure moments. All artists are on their very own journey to search out their technique to better success and determine what their explicit strengths are, and Domingo’s temporary look in Crimson Hook Summer time is a bracing precursor to the bravura shows he is usually giving us, and I hope that streak continues with the likes of The Working Man and no matter Steven Spielberg‘s extremely anticipated UFO movie shall be referred to as.