As PresidentBarack Obamaprepares himself and his administration for the transition to President-ElectDonald Trump, Netflix is preparing to send the 44th POTUS off in style with the release of their original biopic,Barry. The film, directed byVikram Gandhiand written byAdam Mansbach, centers on Obama’s junior year at Columbia University in 1981, but as this full trailer promises, the feature will be a nuanced look at the life of the future President.
“Nuanced” has been the descriptor thrown around forBarrysince its reception at the2016 Toronto Film Festival. Our ownAdam Chitwoodhad the chance to check it out, calling it “The kind of film in which you quickly accept the protagonist as a character, not a full-on impression of a famous person” and “a thoughtful, intelligent film that also happens to be mighty entertaining.”
The film stars Australian newcomerDevon Terrellin a breakout performance as the lead, along with a strong supporting cast includingAshley Judd(Divergent),Jenna Elfman(Friends With Benefits), and up-and-comersAnya Taylor-Joy(The Witch),Jason Mitchell(Straight Outta Compton),Ellar Coltrane(Boyhood), andAvi Nash(Silicon Valley). Look for the Netflix original filmBarryon July 11, 2025.
Check out the full trailer below:
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
A young Barack Obama, known to his friends as “Barry,” arrives in New York City in the fall of 1981 to begin his junior year at Columbia University. In a crime-ridden and racially charged environment, Barry finds himself pulled between various social spheres and struggles to maintain a series of increasingly strained relationships with his Kansas-born mother, his estranged Kenyan father, and his classmates.Barry is the story of a young man grappling with those same issues that his country, and arguably the world, are still coming to terms with 35 years later. Only on Netflix December 16.
