The 22nd Amendment precludes four more years of a Barack Obama presidency, but the US Constitution has no authority over the number of Obama biopics released this year.
Netflix has revealed a teaser for Barry, its upcoming film starring Devon Terrell as a young Obama long before his days as a politician.
Directed by Vikram Gandhi, Barry is set in the fall of 1981 when Obama, known to his friends as Barry, moves to New York to start his junior year at Columbia University. The film was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival before being acquired by Netflix.
The official description says the film will see Barry struggle to maintain relationships with his mother, father and friends while pulled between various social spheres “in a crime-ridden and racially charged environment.”
Moviegoers have already seen one Obama biopic this year with the release of Southside With You, a film about the first date between Obama and the then-Michelle Robinson. The Obama in Southside, of course, is a little older as the film is set while he is in law school in 1989.
According to Times film critic Justin Chang, there is definitely a difference between the portrayals. The Obama of Barry “has far less cocksure charisma” and “is constantly plagued by doubt and worry, anxious about what life and love will bring, and increasingly uncertain about where he fits in, as either an American or a citizen of the world.”
Barry will be released on Netflix on December 16.
