Moving Midway

Moving Midway is a poignant and insightful documentary-style film that takes an unvarnished look at Southern culture, history, and perspectives, making it as much of a historical reflection as it is a personal journey.

Released in 2007, the film is masterfully hosted by Godfrey Cheshire, a dynamic movie critic and journalist from New York City. Returning to his ancestral home in Raleigh, North Carolina, he embarks on a journey of rediscovery, reinterpretation, and renewal. As he is trying to understand his roots, he winds up unearthing layers of buried truths that influence his Southern heritage's understanding. Cheshire uses his family's narrative as a lens to explore broader concepts concerning the Southern society, norms, legacy, and their ever-complicated ties to the institution of slavery.

The story is initially spurred on by the news that his cousin Charlie Silver intends to relocate their family plantation home, known as Midway, away from urban sprawl towards a more secluded location, hence the title "Moving Midway." The circumstances become more engrossing when Charlie meets two African American teachers, Al and Abraham Hinton, who reveal an unexpected connection to the plantation, which adds an unforeseen layer to the family tree.

The movie skilfully intertwines the factual occurrence of moving the ancestral plantation home with a deeper exploration of the Southern identity and the controversial plantation mythology, bringing an anthropological perspective to the narrative. A sizable portion of the movie delves into the exploration of the "moonlight and magnolias" image commonly associated with plantation life, often idolized in Hollywood films like "Gone with the Wind."

In the film, Godfrey Cheshire scrutinizes these romanticized depictions alongside the harsh realities of Southern history, including the cruel institution of slavery and its tumultuous aftermath. As Cheshire brings together perspectives from historians, writers, relatives, and the Hintons, each layer of the story adds more complex contours to the region's history.

Moving Midway features a strong lineup of persuasive, engaging personalities, including Bruce Chadwick and Elizabeth Cheshire. However, the film is distinct because it does not have stars in the traditional sense. Instead, the real central figures are the house and its rich history.

As Cheshire delves deeper into his family's past, the film takes an unexpectedly intimate turn. It unfolds like a captivating detective story, revealing hidden layers of family secrets and Southern history that are as provocative as they are enlightening. It's a film that deftly balances the domestic and the historic, the personal and the political.

Replete with rich cinematic insights, Cheshire also examines scenes from old Hollywood movies, analyzes their portrayals of the South, and contrasts them with the stories, interviews, and historical accounts featured in his film. These scenes add a meta-cinematic aspect to Moving Midway, shifting it from a strictly historical documentary to a deconstructive cultural critique.

This film paints an intense, intricate portrait of a family, a house, and the South that carefully threads the line between nostalgia and critique, unity and division, history and modernity. It avoids overt judgments, opting for a revealing narrative filled with intriguing revelations that offer a nuanced portrayal of the American South.

In Moving Midway, Cheshire manages to depict a deeply personal journey while also exploring the broader, complex social and racial realities of the South. Whether you're a history buff, a lover of docudramas, or someone interested in understanding different cultures and societies, this film is a must-see. It's not just a tale of a house relocation; it's a rich and profound exploration of history, heritage, and identity, all rooted in Cheshire's home and yet, reflective of the bigger picture of America’s southern region.