Written by Alex Haley and David Stevens
Directed by John Erman

In the miniseries Roots and Roots: The Next Generations, Alex Haley traced his lineage down his mother’s side of his family based on stories he heard during his life. There was a brief cameo of his grandmother on his father’s side, but other than the unusual name “Queen” there seemed to be little to be said about her. However, Haley later went into her background as well and told her story, which was just as fascinating as any other in his family.

Queen is a bit different than either Roots or Roots: The Next Generations as it focuses primarily on one character, rather than multiple generations of the family. This was first aired in 1993, very early in Halle Berry’s career and shortly after Alex Haley’s death.

Filmed in South Carolina, the story starts during the era of slavery. Easter (portrayed by Jasmine Guy) is a slave at a plantation owned by the Jackson family. She shares a very affectionate relationship with one of the Jackson sons, James Jr. (portrayed by Tim Daly)

The Jacksons’ views toward slavery are not typical for the times, especially, James’. Although they own slaves, they have a different attitude toward them. More than once, James challenges neighbors and friends who mistreat the people in his eyes. When James Sr. (portrayed by Martin Sheen) becomes ill, he follows through on his promise to free Easter’s father, Cap’n Jack (portrayed by Paul Winfield). However, Cap’n Jack still harbors resentment for James Sr. allowing his wife (Easter’s mother) to be sold off. His words to James Sr. would normally result in a whipping, but instead, it stirs James Sr.’s conscience.

When James Sr. passes away, running the plantation falls on James’ shoulders. This is when his long-time affair with Easter begins. The result is a child he names Queen.

James marries, and everyone is fully aware of who Queen’s father is. When his wife has a baby, he decides it would be a good idea for Queen to live in the house and be trained as a ladies’ maid. She grows up as almost a companion to Jane (portrayed by Jane Krakowski), although Queen and Jane both know her place.

However, all her life she is mistaken for white. She is shunned by the other negro children because of her color and yet she can’t have a place in the white world. When the Civil War breaks out, everything that Queen knows is destroyed. Having no place to call her own, she heeds her (black) grandfather’s warning to never tell what she is. This meets with eventual disaster. Although she is light-skinned, some people catch on to what she is doing. She almost pulls off passing as white and marrying a white man, but eventually, even that is destroyed, as is her only friendship.

Although born into a good place on the plantation, her life is not one of comfort or ease once she leaves it. She is between two worlds and experiences prejudice on both sides as well as the horrors human beings inflict on each other.

With the weight of the series on her shoulder, Halle Berry manages to do a tremendous job carrying it. She takes Queen through all her struggles as a young child through a life of fighting for every moment of happiness. She takes the character from moments of happiness to struggles to downright desperation with the ease of a veteran actress. Queen is sympathetic, but she never asks for or demands our sympathy. Instead, she is continually filled with a pride and strength that makes it tough to watch the moments that strive to break her will. In the hands of a different actress and a different production, it would have been easy to turn Queen into someone quite melodramatic. It’s all the more powerful that this doesn’t happen.

The supporting cast is wonderful, with a wide variety of names people will recognize. Tim Daly is terrific as Queen’s father. At times, he’s almost as torn between two worlds as she is, and there was little doubt to his love for his daughter, but that he would ultimately align with his white identity should be of little surprise to anyone, especially in the days of desperation after the Civil War.

Jasmine Guy is also terrific as Queen’s mother. The similar personality of the two actresses shows where Queen got her sheer will and strength to survive all that would happen to her. Guy is feminine enough to see why James is attracted to her while at the same time being strong enough to accept the hands that life has dealt her with dignity. Her opposite, James’ wife, is portrayed by Patricia Clarkson. Although she doesn’t have a substantial role, her moments are pivotal to the rivalry many wives felt for the slave women their husbands took up with, and in James’ case actually loved quite a bit.

The result is a story that is not easy to pin down, but a complex tale of what society deemed acceptable. It’s a contrast between what was accepted in public versus what happened behind the scenes, even when something was a secret that everyone knew about.

The production values are great. The costuming and scenery are authentic to the time. The setting for the plantation is Boone Hall, which many people will recognize from North and South among other productions. The scenes in the turn of the century mental institution are powerful and chilling as well.

Queen is another terrific Hollywood production that can be used as a teaching tool. If nothing else, the performances and stories it tells are a powerful reminder of what a struggle life was for the former slaves in the post-Civil War period, especially those who were the products of plantation life. No matter how well-intentioned, they weren’t destined for better lives simply because one of their parents was white. If anything, it made their life all the much harder. It’s nice to think of how far we’ve come.