Tribeca: “Kingston” Ruthlessly Skewers Higher Education
There are pros and cons to higher education. In theory, college is something everyone should experience. It’s a time that allows young people to get a taste of freedom, yet be in control of their decisions in a new way. It’s also an opportunity to learn how to be on their own for the first time. In the Tribeca world-premiering Kingston, the ugly underbelly of higher education is exposed in a sharp, satirical narrative.
Kingston is split into three storylines that find themselves intertwining with each other as the semester goes on. The first people the audience meets are Amber (Leann Gardner) and Marco (Nick Snipes), two returning students who are in a situationship. Then there’s Atlas (Rose Badiru), an extremely proud first-generation student from a low income family. Lastly, there’s Professor Liu (Michael C. Liu), a disillusioned Chinese instructor tasked with one-on-one instruction of the bored son of a billionaire (Carlos Key).
Courtesy of Tribeca
Kingston, while a fictional college, could easily be a stand-in for any liberal East Coast institution of higher learning. There’s pretension dripping off every sentence that comes out of these students’ mouths. They want to believe they’re special, that by making it into these hallowed halls they’ve inherently proven they’re better than. But better than who exactly? That much is up for debate because there’s a hierarchy, even within the college. Those who come from rich families see it as a given that they would be here and, as such, don’t think much of those who, like Atlas, got in on a scholarship.
Atlas approaches Kingston far differently than the students around her. She’s bought into the perfect, idealized version of what college could be. A transfer of ideas, a place for connection, and a level playing field. It’s a harsh wake-up call to realize that even though she has made it to the same room as her classmates, they still look down on her. They aren’t interested in actual conversations, only going through the motions to make sure this journey ends with a diploma that reads Kingston. A skeleton key to whatever comes next. They will have spent four years not really learning anything. Or, at least, not comprehending anything. They will be able to regurgitate the greatest hits of liberal college thinking. That much is evident in the scene where the students in Atlas’ class are discussing Nietzsche. Her classmates say Nietzsche doesn’t make much sense, that he’s angry and they don’t understand why, but Atlas gets it. She understands the frustrations of the people who hide behind their intellectualism without meaningfully interacting with the world around them. It’s the exact situation Atlas has found herself in.
Courtesy of Tribeca
While much of this review has focused on Atlas’ story, Kingston splits the time evenly, and all three stories are equally compelling. Amber and Marco demonstrate the horrors of modern dating. So many people are obsessed with the “endless possibilities” of dating apps that they’re willing to give up the already good thing that’s happening in front of them. Professor Liu’s story is about how these universities claim to want to reinvent themselves and change with the times, but are also rooted in their traditions.
Kingston sets out to challenge the idea and purpose of universities in our contemporary social climate. Is there still a place for them? What changes have to be made so that these institutions are actually bettering the young people who walk their halls. From the perfectly pretentious string score to the tiny details the camera silently lingers on, Kingston’s point of view is exceptionally clear. The film, directed by Carlos Key and Kalijah Rowe, is scathing in its examination of academia, while offering moments of absurd comedy that come from these self-important students speaking about things they’re so far from understanding. Kingston, so vital and conversation-changing, speaks directly to the young people it captures.
Follow me on BlueSky, Instagram, Letterboxd, TikTok, YouTube, & Facebook. Check out Movies with My Dad, a podcast recorded on the car ride home from the movies and I Think You’ll Hate This, a podcast hosted by two friends who rarely agree.
support your local film critic!
~
support your local film critic! ~
Beyond the Cinerama Dome is run by one perpetually tired film critic
and her anxious emotional support chihuahua named Frankie.
Your kind donation means Frankie doesn’t need to get a job…yet.