Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Astounds In Ava DuVernay’s Daring New Film ‘Origin’

Ava DuVernay’s new film Origin is as bold and ambitious as they come. It’s also one of the most thought-provoking, transfixing films of 2023. Why it hasn’t been in the awards conversation is a puzzle. At the center of this extraordinary cinematic achievement is a loving, thoughtful, and deeply complex performance by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who received her first Oscar nomination two years ago for King Richard.

Ellis-Taylor portrays the real life Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Isabel Wilkerson whose startling book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” is what the film is based on. But this is no adaptation, nor is it a traditional narrative. What sets Origin apart from most films is its defiance of expectation in its narrative storytelling and the fact that the story’s central figure is a Black female. It’s the type of film you respond to viscerally, intellectually, and emotionally, a rare feat.

Wilkerson argued that race is not the major factor when it comes to the horrific treatment of Black people in our country, but it has more in common with the Nazi treatment of Jews as well as India’s insidious conduct towards the Dalits people (known as the untouchables) and is about caste—how those in power rank human value setting, “the presumed supremacy of one group over the presumed inferiority of other groups.”

The film focuses on Wilkerson’s intellectual and personal journeys—while doing her research she suffered many tragic losses in her life. Ellis-Taylor remarkably peels away at the character’s layers, letting us mourn with her as well as investigate and discover alongside her.

The thesp has had quite a career on stage, screen, and TV over the last three decades. She made her Broadway debut opposite Patrick Stewart in Shakespeare’s The Tempest in 1995 and one year later had the co-lead role in the indie film Girls Town.

Her extensive film credits include A Map of the World (1999), Lovely and Amazing (2001), Ray (2004), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009), The Help (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), The Color Purple (2023), and Exhibiting Forgiveness, which will world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this month.

She has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for When They See Us (2019) and Lovecraft Country (2021) as well as four SAG Awards.

Awards Daily had the pleasure of chatting with Ellis-Taylor about the film and her performance.

Origin is currently playing in theaters.