It should have been made 40 years ago, but this biopic about the Mexican-American leader who spearheaded the fight for farmworkers' rights couldn't be more timely.

Cesar Chavez makes for a fine history lesson, but as drama, it leaves something to be desired.

Michael Pea brings a centered, beckoning beauty to the title character that manages to speak to Chvez nonviolent approach without becoming hagiographic.

Watching Idris Elba do Mandela or Pena do Chavez means nothing if we never reach a greater sense of what makes these men tick. We know the history, now deliver the feelings.