A WWII drama with plenty of stamps.
I apologize to my loyal readers for the delay in my review of “The Six Triple Eight,” but the holidays have been too busy for my mind to process everything. The holidays are a season I like to consider “Tax Season for Film Critics.” But now that things are pretty dry right now, I’ve finally come around, and you know that saying: “Better late than never.”
This movie, directed by Tyler Perry, is the story of the all-black all-female unit, known as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, or better known as the Six Triple Eight. This was during World War II, and given their race, they weren’t given the right duties for their country, until they were given an important mission regarding mail. And while it’s not a perfect film of the genre, it still makes some important and uplifting aspects about this side of history. I know it sounds corny the way I’m describing it, but my mother and grandmother watched this movie and we’re moved by it. I’m going to take their word for it.
As the film begins, an African-American girl named Lena Derriecott Bell King (Ebony Obsidian from “If Beale Street Could Talk”) is mourning the loss of her childhood friend and boyfriend Abram (Gregg Sulkin), who died in battle and was the only white person to defend her. Her only recourse to avenge him is to join the army.
There’s also a meeting between President Franklin Roosevelt (Sam Waterston), his wife Eleanor (Susan Sarandon), the educator Mary McLeod Bethune (Oprah Winfrey), and General Halt about the many mothers who haven’t heard back from their sons who are fighting, and the black women who aren’t given their rights. Halt thinks the letters are less important and that those women don’t have what it takes to fight. But using her words of wisdom about what she has seen in America, Mary is able to try to talk some sense into the general.
Kerry Washington plays the no-nonsense Major Charity Abrams, who trains the recruits for battle, but she must also deal with the racism within the corp. She and her battalion are assigned with redirecting the mail, which is a lot more action than they were given.
The battle scenes look and feel cheesy, and there’s not much direction within those sequences. But that’s not what “The Six Triple Eight” is about. It focuses on a group of women, not many of us have learned about before, and how they made a difference in the war. And the two best performances come from Washington and Obsidian, who both present their characters with the right emotions, and I like the scene when the major tells the girl that she is full of potential. Not every movie has to be like “Full Metal Jacket” with R. Lee Ermey playing the loud and abusive drill sergeant, and so it’s nice to take a break from those formulas.
In 2024, Perry also directed “Mea Culpa” and “Divorce in the Black,” both of which were streaming, both of which had terrible critical reception, and both of them I stayed away from. But with “The Six Triple Eight,” he gives us a reason to watch it on Netflix. To learn about these women and acknowledge what they have done for all the mothers whose sons are in the war. And these African-American women were able to thrive against the racism within.
The movie is able to overcome whatever cynicism happens, and has the high spirits to present this true story without overselling itself. And believe me, no junk mail is delivered.
Streaming on Netflix