The Dutchman 2025

In New York City, the writer Dr. Amiri Baraka gives Clay a copy of his provocative play Dutchman, suggesting that understanding struggle can unlock freedom. As Warren speaks with him on the phone while Clay steps onto the subway, a magical theater model from Amiri whisks him into a realm where racism appears more overt and personal. The narrative echoes the play’s core themes, but reimagines them across fresh urban settings and encounters.

At the next station, Lula stares him down, boards the car, and starts a tense conversation. Clay remains unsure whether her statements are true, including her guess that he has a friend named Warren who looks like him. Lula invites herself to the party he’s attending, and they leave together for her apartment, where she seduces him.

After their night together, Clay notices the same theater model in Lula’s apartment that he had seen earlier at Amiri’s place. The mood shifts into bitterness as they argue; when he tries to walk away, she screams loudly enough for the neighbors to hear. She even threatens to use the condom’s contents 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. When Clay asks one of them, Kaya, about the conversation, they rehash an argument about her infidelity.

As Lula grows more volatile, Warren urges Clay to remove her to “murder the vibe.” Instead, Clay sinks into an existential crisis, questioning what he has gained from living a life that sticks to a plan and avoids mistakes.

Clay and the party’s dynamics deepen when he 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 offers guidance through the next cell, and Kaya bails him out. They argue, and she leaves.

On the return journey, Clay steps into a full-scale version of the theater, shelves lined with copies of the play, and realizes Lula’s words are echoed verbatim in the text. Amiri appears and explains that Lula is Clay’s darkest thoughts made flesh. They debate whether Clay must die as the character in the play does.

Clay enters the subway to continue the story. Lula magically reappears and tries again to seduce him, but he refuses, insisting on embracing the Black man he is. When he attempts to exit the train, she attacks him with a knife. In a departure from the play’s fate, Clay stabs Lula. Two police officers board and arrest him, despite a Black eyewitness testifying to his innocence. When Lula shows a video of the attack on her phone, the officers relent. Clay walks home in the sunshine and makes amends with Kaya.