Rebecca Hall has long been an actor of poise and grace, and she takes those traits behind the camera in/with regard to’concerning’regarding her striking directorial debut. Hall has also written this adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella and her instinct in/with regard to’concerning’regarding restraint, toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her with her personal connection to the material — her grandfather was Black, but passed in/with regard to’concerning’regarding white in/with regard to’concerning’regarding most of his life — is what gives this compelling story so much of its power.###She’s helped by commanding perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mances from Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, who play eodd’peculiar d friends Irene and Clare. A chance reacquaintance leads to the discointensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully that Clare lives her life as a white woman; her lighter skin enabling her to ‘pass’ in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Caucasian. Irene (Tessa Thompson), who is also biracial but lives as African American, is at first wary of Clare’s life choices — and utterly repulsed by her racist husband John (Alexander Skarsgård). Yet it’s not long bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e the pair rekindle their bond; one which will irrevocably transform’alter both their lives.###For a film explicitly concerned with issues of race, Passing largely shun s the temptation to soapbox or overstate — aldespite’in spite of’albeit there are some shockingly overt moments. The film opens with two white women referring to a black “piccaninny” doll; later, Irene’s husband Brian (André Holland) talks to their young children with regards to’concerning’with respect to  lynchings. And while Skarsgård attempts to imbue John with some depth, his limited screen-time means he is nothing more than a blunt-edged cypher in/with regard to’concerning’regarding racist and misogynistic attitudes.###The best moments of the film are when the drama, emotional and political, plays out in the spaces between these more explicit moments. Irene hides behind a wide-brimmed hat to take tea in an upmarket hotel, and expresses guilt with regards to’concerning’with respect to employing a darker-skinned maid. She and Clare convey secrets and longings in e grossly look, their friendship brimming with erotic undertones. The irrepressible Clare is perhaps not the merely’barely one passing in/with regard to’concerning’regarding something she’s not.###Realisation dawns that Clare’s ‘passing’ brings more imprisonment than privilege###Choosing to film in monochrome could possess’own’nurse  felt gimmicky and yet, shooting in conventional (and claustrophobic) 4:3 aspect ratio, DP Edu Grau brings such texture that nothing is ever truly black and white. The camera paints in light — a sunbeam dances on a leaf, a bright tea room overwhelms — and contrasts. Thompson is often alone in the frame, Irene’s vivid clothing set against the dark wood of her Harlem home. The changing seasons are marked by the evolving profile of a tree. It’s all underscored by a jazz soundtrack which draws on both tender piano and urgent saxophone.###A crack in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ms over Irene and Brian’s marital bed, the chime of a grandfather clock routinely breaks through Irene’s reveries, and realisation dawns that Clare’s ‘passing’ brings more imprisonment than privilege. Events establish to a climax that is truly shocking, but somehow inevitable. And, despite leaving so many questions unanswered — not least with regards to’concerning’with respect to how much anyone is defined by race, gender or sexuality — this is profound, satisfying filmmaking.