
EPISODE 1.1
The Fight of the Century
Aspiring to be more than a washerwoman, Sarah grows determined
... More to sell Addie's hair product. But when she's cruelly rebuffed, the gloves come off.LessOscar winner Octavia Spencer is Madam CJ Walker in Netflix's biographical mini-series detailing how she grew a haircare empire and became the first African American self-made millionaire. Co-stars Emmy winner Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and Carmen Ejogo (True Detective).
Its reverence towards Walker isn't matched by stodgy storytelling; it finds in moments a briskness and charge that might elude a more straightforwardly told period drama.
Full reviewWhat it doesn't do, across four episodes and 190 minutes, is give a very strong idea of who Walker was or how she accomplished what she did.
Full reviewSpencer's performance is dazzling. The role of pioneer comes naturally to her, and her character shows the scars of what it means to be a successful woman in a community and era where there were few.
Full reviewIt's ultimately, thankfully, Spencer's show and she's in supreme command, selling every second of Walker's story as well as convincing us, and hopefully any director that's watching, that she deserves more time in the spotlight.
Full reviewIt is decidedly an old-school, good-time miniseries dropped into a world that will measure it by upper-crusty limited series standards.
Full reviewIt's been long past time for Madam C.J. Walker to get her due on the small or big screen, but this series is sadly a disservice to her.
Full reviewSelf Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker - Season 1 is available to stream in New Zealand now on Netflix.
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