‘The Dutchman’ review: a contemporary take on a seminal play with a lot more to say

We are currently on the ground in Austin, Texas, for the 2025 South by Southwest festival, and we were lucky enough to catch a screening of The Dutchman, Andre Gaines’s modern reimagining of the 1964 stage play by Amiri Baraka. A groundbreaking play in its time, The Dutchman has remained, unfortunately, relevant.

Fleshed out from a scarce half-hour run, Gaines and co-screenwriter Qasim Basir have given the story more depth and complexity while broadening the narrative’s world. We are not limited to just the interior of a subway car in this version; there is the modern world with its modern problems to explore. It is a different decade, but the same issues still linger, and, as with any adaptation, the devil is in the details.

Gaines and Basir address the racial tension that has remained in society beyond the 1960s through a contemporary lens. It is still prevalent but in different and sometimes more insidious forms. The sense of otherness manifests itself in feeling like you are failing in a world where you are expected to be able to succeed, and even if you do succeed, you have not succeeded enough because of who you are.

The story starts with Clay’s (André Holland) and Kaya’s (Zazie Beetz) marriage falling apart following Kaya’s infidelity. After a marriage counseling session, their therapist, Dr. Amiri (Stephen McKinley Henderson), gives Clay a copy of the play and tells him to read it. Clay takes it, and as he walks back down into the subway station, his world shifts.

The adaptation gives us a new meta twist on the original material, splicing reality with a sense of magical realism. After Clay meets Lula (Kate Mara) on the subway platform and she bullies her way into his life, he is forced to turn the mirror inwards and reflect on himself.

You may not like what you see in that mirror

Mara and Holland’s performances are theatrical but in very different ways. They deliver the monologues in ways that feel fit for a stage, with the same projected lilt you would expect to hear there. Holland can be quiet but raises the volume and tension when needed.

Mara’s Lula is unpredictable and unhinged, commanding the screen with unnerving precision. Holland plays Clay fantastically as a flawed man who genuinely learns from his mistakes and wants to stop the cycle.

The themes of this film are not subtle, and though some will perceive that as an issue, it works for this film and not just because of the source material. We don’t need subtlety—we need to be confronted with the worst parts of the world. As the film’s title card states, “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

The Dutchman is about changing your narrative and having the power to do so. Just because your life begins one way does not mean it has to stay on that path. Sometimes, all we need is a different perspective.