The Dutchman 2026

In New York City, Dr. Amiri Baraka gives Clay, André Holland a copy of his play Dutchman, with the advice that understanding struggle can lead to freedom. When Clay talks on the phone with his friend Warren while entering the Subway, Amiri uses a magical theater model to transport him into a world where racism is more open and unflinching. The story unfolds with themes from the play, yet unfolds in fresh settings that keep the tension personal and immediate.

At the next station Lula, Kate Mara stares at Clay, enters his subway car, and strikes up a conversation. Clay remains unsure if anything she says is true, such as her guessing he has a friend named Warren who looks like him. Lula invites herself to the party he’s attending. They exit together and go to her apartment where she seduces him. After they have sex, Clay notices the same theater model in Lula’s apartment that he saw earlier at Amiri’s place. They get into an argument, and when Clay walks out the door, she screams loudly enough for the neighbors to hear. She then threatens to use the contents of a condom to accuse him of rape if he doesn’t take her to the party.

Lula, the only white person at the party, insults the guests with racist comments. When Clay asks one of them, his wife Kaya, Zazie Beetz about the conversation, they end up rehashing an argument about her infidelity. As Lula spirals further, Warren, Aldis Hodge, asks Clay to remove her for “murdering the vibe.” Instead, Clay experiences an existential crisis, questioning what he gained by living a life planned and never truly messing up.

Clay introduces city councilor Warren, who plans a project to improve Harlem. When Lula threatens to interrupt the speech, Clay runs away. She follows, screams for the police, and gets him arrested. In jail, Amiri, in the next cell, offers guidance before Kaya bails him out. They argue and she leaves.

On the way home, Clay finds himself in a full-scale version of the theater, with a shelf stuffed with copies of the play, and realizes that Lula’s words are embedded in the text verbatim. Amiri appears and explains that she is his darkest thoughts made manifest. They discuss whether Clay must die as the character in the play does.

Clay steps back onto the subway to continue the story. Lula magically reappears and tries to have sex with him. When he refuses, she makes a scene. He asserts that he will not be diminished and demands to be the black man he is. When he tries to get off the train, she attacks him with a knife. In a departure from the play, Clay stabs her instead. Two police officers board and arrest him, despite a black eyewitness proclaiming his innocence. When Lula shows a video of the attack on her phone, the cops relent. Clay walks home in the sunshine and makes up with Kaya.