'The Six Triple Eight' Netflix Review: Kerry Washington Will Make You Cry

When it comes to Tyler Perry, I can’t help but go into his work with skepticism. So, I guess that’s the reason I was pleasantly surprised by his latest historical piece, The Six Triple Eight. Based on the true story of the Black women’s battalion of the WAC during the Second World War, the film focuses specifically on the stories of 2 women to deliver a piece of history a lot of us knew nothing about. The film begins with a love story between a white Jewish man named Abram and a Black woman named Lena Derriecott. Soon, Abram finds himself getting shipped off and asking Lena to wait for him. When Lena learns Abram’s gone, she decides she’ll join the army herself and “fight for her country.” The beginning of the film focuses largely on Lena’s journey to becoming a soldier in Major Charity Adams’ battalion. However, somewhere in the middle it shifts tonally and becomes about Adams herself. But I’ll get to that in a bit. Lena and a large group of Black and POC women join the army, and training begins. We see some interesting characters, all different from each other, with a few standouts. After they’ve passed, they’re put on a mission, and for the first time ever, the Black women get to do actual fieldwork, but what’s the job? To deliver mail. What at first seems like an insult to Adams soon becomes an inviolable mission for the women. 

While some of the details aren’t exactly right, for the most part, the one scene that is meant to educate us is done to the T, so I will not complain about the rest. The movie banks solely on Washington’s performance as Major Charity Adams, and boy, does she deliver. A friend of mine once said that if the movie is bad, we always end up saying, “But the acting was really good.” Oftentimes, mediocre stories are considered brilliant solely because of who enacts those stories. In this case, the story is inspiring and the acting is fantastic, but it is the screenplay that really weighs the film down. Specifically, the divide in the story between Lena and Adams feels quite unnecessary. This is not to say that we didn’t need to hear Lena’s story, considering how the amazing woman makes a special appearance at the end of the film, but it’s the way the two stories don’t intertwine with each other that makes it a little bit unsavory. 

I’d probably say that’s my only complaint about the film. It is just a little bit long at a little over 2 hours, but that’s Tyler Perry for you. Some might say The Six Triple Eight is a little bit too dramatic, or overacted, but I didn’t think so. I think it’s just loud in what it wants to say, and that’s fine. There isn’t anything unique in the film itself. This is a war movie, and it matches your sentimental expectations, but that is because the story itself is so emotional. These women may appear to be fighting “a” war, but they’re actually fighting multiple. Food for thought: if this film was made by a woman, it might’ve been a 5-star one because what better than experience to aid you in telling a story? Sure, Tyler Perry understands half of what these women are feeling because of his racial background, but he does not understand the sexism they faced and face today. I don’t think a line of dialogue like “I have never seen a smart (insert insult) woman,” occasionally is enough to truly make us realize how much these women went through. 

I guess this is one problem a lot of historical films have: they simply tell the story as it is. I did watch a documentary about the 6888, which taught me more than this film did. However, the point I’m really trying to make here is that there isn’t much exploration of the characters and how what’s happening on the outside affects one on the inside. Sure, we all know these women are suffering, but how do they deal with it? How do they stay strong in these harsh conditions and prove everyone wrong? That is what I really want to know, you know? Of course, we don’t have a lot of these answers, but that’s when a filmmaker comes in trying to tell impactful stories. 

Still, I cannot say I didn’t like this movie, because I specifically enjoyed it for Kerry Washington’s skills. Ebony Obsidian was pretty good as Lena too, but there’s something about her dialogue delivery, specifically when she’s crying, that felt a little underwhelming to me. I quite enjoyed the bits where she’d be inspired to do better when she’s nearly given up. That’s exactly what I’m talking about in terms of drive and push for each character and why they do what they do. Of course, I can’t go without mentioning Shanice Williams as Johnnie May because she is the loudest character in the film. As it goes, some sort of comic relief in a serious Tyler Perry film, but she’s great. 

At the end of the day, I don’t think The Six Triple Eight is a bad film at all; I just think it could’ve been much better. This is why going in with no expectations is the best thing you could do. With all of the crap I’ve watched by Tyler Perry lately, I can’t help but feel like this is one of his best works. Maybe if he continues down this path, he’ll finally find his place again. If you like historical films, then this one might actually be worth your time. I think it’s a really important story, and Kerry Washington tells it beautifully. I’d give The Six Triple Eight 3 out of 5 stars for an attempt to be a good movie.