Origin was written and directed by Ava DuVernay and is a novel biographical drama exploring the period of the life of author Isabel Wilkerson when she researched and wrote the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. 

Following up after the success of her first book years earlier was a difficult process for Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor); expectations and lofty personal creative aspirations hindered progress, but with her family’s support and guidance she persisted.

She persisted through professional obstacles and remarkably, the personal tragedies that deprived her of her beloved husband Brett (Jon Bernthal), her mother Ruby (Emily Yancy) and later her cousin Marion (Niecy Nash). Isabel researched and travelled to India, Germany and other parts of the United States to explore the idea of caste as the system and mechanism of control over people across the world. Her work produced a book that was a bestseller in the U.S. and provided profound insight into a dark element of humanity.

Origin explores Isabel Wilkerson’s life with care, and through an impressive and engrossing performance by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, combined with an unexpectedly powerful but low-key performance by Jon Bernthal and strong support from Emily Yancy and Niecy Nash.

Origin also explores different examples from history from Wilkerson’s research; a young couple in the shadow of the rising Nazi party, from India a Dalit professor’s experiences; and in the United States the horror of slavery. This narrative structure is ambitious in its scope, but Ava DuVernay expertly handles it and seamlessly ties it to the biographical story of Wilkerson’s journey to writing her great work.

This novel structure, the engaging performances and Ava DuVernay’s expert direction make Origin supremely compelling, and impressively also makes Wilkerson’s daunting work seem more approachable which further confirms the film’s brilliance.

Origin is a masterwork from writer/director Ava DuVernay, who combines expertly the wonderful performance of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor with an ambitious multifaceted approach  to explore the life and work of the film’s subject Isabel Wilkerson.

★★★★

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