DramaYear2013Duration1h 33mIMDb4.8

Black Nativity

DramaFamilyMusic

A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey.

Trailer

Cast

Kasi Lemmons

Director

Forest Whitaker

Reverend Cornell Cobbs

Angela Bassett

Aretha Cobbs

Jennifer Hudson

Naima

Tyrese Gibson

Loot

Tyrese Gibson

Tyson

Jacob Latimore

Langston

Mary J. Blige

Angel

Nas

Street Prophet (Isaiah)

Vondie Curtis-Hall

Pawnbroker

Luke James

Jo-Jo

Luke James

Joseph

GG

Grace Gibson

Maria

GG

Grace Gibson

Mary

Rotimi

Officer Butch McDaniels

J. Mallory McCree

Kyle

Henry Hunter Hall

Snoopy

Michael Dale

Innkeeper

Doug Willen

Chic Man

Sorika Wolf

Chic Man's Mistress

Jason Samuels Smith

Hotel Security Guard

C. Kelly Wright

Desperate Pawnshop Woman

Langston Hughes

Writer

Kasi Lemmons

Writer

Comments

10 Comments

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AnonymousJun 14, 2026

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AnonymousJun 13, 2026

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AnonymousJun 13, 2026

MiniTVJun 13, 2026

user3596820304353Jun 14, 2025

I was, for the most part, feeling pleasant enough about this... until that ending. It's not that 'Black Nativity' ends badly, it's just so incredibly forced and cringeworthy. It's a Christmas film so I guess I could cut it some slack, but I feel it could've concluded things much better. Some of the character decisions felt odd at times, also. One of the reasons as to why I was actually finding this satisfactory throughout is the cast - loads of recognisable and likeable faces. Forest Whitaker (Cornell) is honestly great, his performance is the only one I'd class as anything over 'good'. Jacob Latimore (Langston) and Angela Bassett (Aretha) are the best of the rest, though I always like watching 'Fast & Furious' star Tyrese Gibson act too. All in all, nothing positive or negative... just average.

realhimeshDec 17, 2024

Hasnain Razak khatriMay 29, 2023

source: Black Nativity

Poco_leeMay 23, 2023

A Film of Forgiveness, 2nd chances and a reason to love as Families. Great Movies, can't believe I cried.

Ashu HabeshaMay 23, 2023

Feel good movie I reckon - if you are into them and don't mind the dramatic depth ... well you are at the right place. The drama is there, but it really has no quality to it. I don't even bother to rate the quality of the acting, we know some of the people involved are very capable. If anything that happens here surprises you ... well I almost envy you if this is the case. I don't think you have to have seen a lot of movies to see the direction this is heading. It's predictable to a T. I try to stay away from movies like this, but I did watch it to the "bitter" end. No pun intended and definitely no spoiler given there, not that it would matter

Hasan(KING)May 23, 2023

Black Nativity is an adaptation of a stage play by Langston Hughes which itself is the telling of the nativity with an entire black cast. This film adaptation updates it as a loose parable. Jacob Latimore is Langston Cobbs sent by his mother from Baltimore to live with his grandparents in New York that he knows little about. Naima (Jennifer Hudson) is struggling financially with her house at risk of being repossessed. She has no option but to send her son off to her estranged parents just before Christmas. When Jacob arrives in New York he immediately loses his money and is then arrested. His grandfather Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker) takes him home from the police station where he meets his grandmother Angela Cobbs (Angela Bassett.) Jacob feels uncomfortable at his grandparents. He knows little about them, he has no idea why his mother has little to do with them, he knows nothing about his father. He finds Reverend Cobbs stern and he also has no time for religion. During his brief stay he has regular run ins with a man called Tyson (Tyrese Gibson) who buys and sells goods outside a pawnbroker. Also in the neighbourhood is a poor, homeless young pregnant couple. Things come to a head when the church puts on their annual nativity and Naima returns and Langston finds out the real reason why she left. The film is a musical drama about faith, struggle and hope. There are people struggling financially, there are people who want reconciliation and redemption. There are people having a crisis of faith. The songs that are gospel based are not very good. The songs need a hook and be catchy. They are not and get in the way. The story is only half developed. The characters tended to be stereotyped and two dimensional. Nothing really fits together even during its short running time. I found the dramatic finale where everything comes together to be anticlimactic and poorly written.

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