Origin

Confronting difficult questions without supplying easy answers seems to be the entire modus operandi for Origin, a cinematic dissertation on racial identity and historical prejudice that’s also a call for unity through understanding.

This ambitious deep-dive from director Ava DuVernay (Selma) remains provocative even when indulging in heavy-handed tendencies. It’s a dense and challenging — if also highly uneven — film reflecting the passion and vision of a true auteur.

“Racism as the primary language to understand everything is insufficient,” explains Isabel (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), a writer whose character is based on Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, upon which the film is loosely based.

She doesn’t outwardly dwell on issues of discrimination, married to a supportive white businessman (Jon Bernthal) with two children. However, a series of personal tragedies triggers a spiritual awakening of sorts.

After the murder of Trayvon Martin — the depiction of which sets an unsettling tone — and with encouragement from her cousin (Niecy Nash-Betts), Isabel uses her grief to scrutinize race-based caste systems for a new book.

Her wide-ranging anthropological research suggests links between the lingering effects of slavery in the Jim Crow South to extermination efforts in Nazi Germany, class subjugation in contemporary India, and modern American ideological division.

DuVernay’s screenplay toggles fact and fiction in the way it both adapts Wilkerson’s book and charts its creation. Along the way, she examines the subtleties of perceptions about tolerance and equality across generations and ethnic backgrounds.

For example, it scrutinizes how laws normalized willing assimilation and deference among middle-class Black families as a byproduct of segregation, in the process perpetuating socioeconomic inferiority and subordination rather than accelerating upward mobility.

Despite its worthwhile intentions, the film veers into well-researched lecture that can test your patience while leaving room for interpretation.

Aside from the broader social issues, however, it tells a compelling story of resilience and starting over, anchored by a powerfully understated portrayal by Ellis-Taylor (King Richard). Speaking with conviction, she captures how Isabel’s mild-mannered demeanor masks a deeper desire to break free from buttoned-up politeness and find her true voice.

Even if you don’t buy into all of its theories, Origin is a bold and thoughtful exploration of systemic inequality and subconscious bias filtered through decades of oppression. The film persuasively argues that we need to critically examine our past to meaningfully shape our collective future.

Rated PG-13, 141 minutes.