Inevitably, Malcolm ends up in prison, where he argues with Bible thumper Christopher Plummer and falls under the influence of black Muslim Baines (Albert Hall). Once Malcolm is freed, he becomes a top disciple of aged Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammed (Al Freeman Jr.)
Gradually, Malcolm becomes a celebrity, to the degree that the white American press enjoys stoking controversy with the outspoken and charismatic black man. As Malcolm's fame grows, fellow Nation of Islam members become jealous. Division is also sowed by a scandal involving Elijah's illegitimate children.
Meanwhile, Malcolm has married hottie nurse Betty (Angela Bassett) and they raise three little girls. He makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he decides that not all whites are evil after all. Upon his return, he finally breaks with the Nation of Islam and forms a rival, more moderate church. He is targeted for intimidation and assassination by the Nation of Islam.
How others will see it. Malcolm X was a box office hit and made money despite a high production cost. Critical reception was mixed but predominantly favorable. At the Oscars, Denzel Washington received a coveted nomination as Best Actor, but lost to Al Pacino's overwrought performance in Scent of a Woman. Washington would have to wait until 2002 and Training Day to become the first black winner of that award.
As for director Spike Lee, he enjoyed one of his most mainstream successes. Today at imdb.com, the film has a sizeable 35K user votes and a high average rating of 7.7. The ratings are generally consistent across all demographics, though there is a moderate decline from 8.6 to 7.5 among males as they age from under 18 to over 30.
The production benefits from its "look." The period costumes are attractive (the film's other Oscar nomination was its costume design) and key scenes are convincing, particularly the chaos of Malcolm's assassination.
How I felt about it. There were many moments in this film that didn't ring true with me. I will mention some of these in random order.
First of all, there is a singer (Miki Howard) who purports to be Billie Holiday but sounds absolutely nothing like her. Since anyone remotely familiar with jazz from that era knows Holiday's voice, Spike Lee would have been better off playing a record instead.
More significant is the first appearance of Sophia. A young beautiful white woman, she attends, by herself, an all-black nightclub where she selects Denzel Washington out of the crowd and throws herself at him. I'm sorry, I don't buy it. This is a simply fantasy scene for male viewers. This will never happen to you, even if you are fortunate enough to look like Denzel Washington.
We also wonder why Nation of Islam members have such antipathy toward Washington, when (at that time) he is presented as such a swell guy and a family man. Did he eat a pork sandwich on television or something?
We are also suspicious of a scene where Malcolm confronts police after they have seriously beaten a black man. Malcolm brings with him an army of similarly dressed black men who stand at attention indefinitely and wait for his command. Where did Malcolm get all these men, and how did he gain such control over them? Were there that many black Muslims willing to provide Minuteman service, even in New York City? And why do they stand and march like soldiers? Is it just to make them look cool for the camera?
Finally, there is the matter of Malcolm X himself. He begins as a lawless gangster (Child), then becomes an inflexible demagogue (Parent), and finally moderates his views (Adult) just in time to get himself killed. What does he really stand for? He is right to demand equality, but for most of his public career, his views were too radical. He was a separatist who wanted blacks to have nothing to do with the white majority, and represented a church whose active management was corrupt and plotted his downfall behind his back.