The American Society of Magical Negroes’ ending compromises in places it shouldn’t

polygon.com:

The American Society of Magical Negroes is an uncomfortable film for many reasons — most of them deliberate. The title spells this intention out plain as day. The film’s protagonist, a biracial Black sculptor named Aren (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves co-star Justice Smith), tiptoes through an art gallery — and his own life — as though he were perpetually walking across eggshells, consciously and unconsciously agonizing under the weight and expectations of the white gaze. Incapable of asserting the value of his work as an artist or his worth as a person — or simply unwilling to — he radiates an aura of discomfort that immediately draws the attention of Roger (David Alan Grier), a kindly older Black man who just so happens to be, you guessed it, a “Magical Negro.”

Kobi Libii’s writing and directing debut attempts to strike a balance between presenting a satirical secret society of Black men and women with magical powers, exploring Aren’s awakening awareness of his own needs and desires, and confronting the fragility of white expectations in the face of any attempts to highlight racism’s presence in everyday society.

Unfortunately, the film’s reach exceeds its grasp, resolving in a final act that feels like an contrivance born out of desire for a happy ending more than a satisfying or meaningful conclusion. The movie satirizes the prioritization of white people’s comfort above any other considerations, but then sidesteps those potentially high stakes for the sake of a pandering, facile resolution.

Early on in The American Society of Magical Negroes, Aren is recruited into a secret network of Black men and women who — in keeping with the trope Spike Lee identified in 2001 — comfort and support white people while voluntarily putting their own lives and desires on hold. Libii reveals a reasoning that explains the trope: The Society wants to mollify white people so they’ll be less likely to lash out against people of color.

Aren’s natural obsequiousness makes