Movie Review – Ailey (2021) : vimarsana.com

Movie Review – Ailey (2021)
SYNOPSIS:
An immersive portrait of dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, told through his own words and a new dance inspired by his life.
Great documentaries are often able to present a holistic – though not necessarily all-encompassing – account of their subject which appeals to acolytes and newcomers alike, yet Jamila Wignot’s (
Town Hall)
Ailey more often feels like a brisk precis of the life and times of legendary dancer-choreographer Alvin Ailey. As such, it may leave both camps a little unfulfilled.
Full disclosure from the outset: I come to this film with virtually no knowledge of the man at all, and only slightly more about the art of dance itself. But in its best moments Wignot’s film captures the beauty of poetry in motion, of physical movement’s potential as storytelling, history lesson, protest, and best of all, truth.