It's been a very strong year for films focused solely on African American characters and culture.
Black Panther was a strong addition to the Marvel lineup.
Sorry to Bother You was a zany wacky trip equally weird as it was entertaining.
And Blindspotting was just a fantastic, smart, hilarious film that earned my first perfect score of the year.
Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman has been on my radar for a while now even though I'm mostly unfamiliar with the director and his last effort, Chi-Raq, a unique film that I found "good" at the time and has become somewhat forgettable and sadly irrelevant over the years.
Set in Colorado Springs, Colorado -- one of the main reasons I was immediately interested (we don't get many movies out here, ok!) the film is based on a shocking true story that I honestly can't believe hasn't been made into a film before now. Ron Stallworth, the first African American police in the Springs, decides he wants to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan to determine if they're planning anything violent. If you know anything about the Klan, you know that they're an organization of white supremacists who try to mask carrying on Nazi values such as hating black people, Jewish people, gay people, etc. So the premise alone leads to a humorous set-up and after a fantastic first trailer I was sold on seeing this one.
"The Rock needs me back on Ballers?! On my way!"
While it is an excellent film, I unfortunately didn't like it quite as much as I would have anticipated, for a variety of reasons. The story it tells is not one of them though as the portrayal of the events are remarkable and hard-to-believe. Certain aspects are added to the film for excitement -- as is with most historical films -- but the core premise of a black man infiltrating and essentially monitoring/slowing the KKK in Colorado Springs is impressive and certainly not without its irony. We're also treated to a wonderful cast that does great in challenging roles. John David Washington, who I've really only ever known from Ballers is a hilarious but poignant Stallworth. I consistently was laughing at the way he would pronounce his "w"s as it reminded me of a scene in Hot Rod. "With the right whhhite man, we can do anything, sir!" -- had me rolling. Adam Driver easily sheds his Kylo Ren persona to portray essentially the "white" Ron Stallworth and the cop that actually meets the Klansman face to face. Both of these men deserve credit for their ingenuity and work, but really it was Zimmerman (aka white Stallworth) that had his life on the line most of the time. Driver does well in this conflicted regard -- being forced to say things that are certainly offensive and angry -- in order to get in with the clan. He and Washington have good chemistry which adds a dose of "buddy cop" vibes to the film. Most of the remaining cast has the hard job of partaking in a lot of the hate speech that, truthfully, does become hard to watch. They do well with it even when it's making you uncomfortable and I can only imagine how hard it was to actually say some of the things they did. While none of what's displayed by the KKK is surprising in BlacKkKlansman, it is shocking. Part of me feels like they overdid the hate speech scenarios and dialogue, but an equal part of me knows how real this Nazi-based hatred is and views it would have been a disservice had they toned it down. With this aspect of the film, Spike Lee chooses to take a political stand -- which is unsurprising and he's totally within his right to do -- that I feel harms the film overall. Less because I do or don't agree with it, but more because I think the film could have existed without it and been just as powerful. The film ends with footage from Charlottesville chaos from last year which I felt was really impactful, but almost contradicted the film's point about pushing out hate as both sides last year were filled with hate. Maybe that's Lee's point, and I do think it ties to what Washington's character continuously preaches as a black police officer, but again, tied with the overt politics, it felt like the message was maybe biting its own hand.
See what happened to his career after Venom!
Minor thoughts on politics aside (I feel like I've discussed politics a lot in films in this year as a sidebar), I am not the biggest fan of some of Spike Lee's directorial style. That's nothing against the man, and more just preference, but there were a handful of components to the film I found a bit odd. For starters, there are a handful of weird cuts/edits that I felt were unnecessary and unfitting to what is essentially a historical biography. A perfect example of this is near the end of the film when Stallworth greets a fellow white officer with a handshake/clap. It feels perfectly mundane -- just like any greeting -- but then the film cuts and shows that exact same handshake/clap from a different angle. Not all that different than what a corny action film would do. Minor instances like that took me out of the film substantially because my immediate reaction was "WTF was that?". Similarly, I felt the film enters a lull, rinse-and-repeat set-up from the time the Klan is successfully infiltrated to the climax of the film. It's not necessarily un-entertaining -- the film is constantly a treat in that regard -- but it's the same process several times over: Zimmerman meets with the Klan. One member of Klan is very suspicious of him. Stallworth has a phone conversation. Stallworth has a conversation with his "girlfriend" about black power and police. Rinse. Repeat. It's nothing that ruins the film, or even takes it off track, but it does give it a sense of non-direction for a period of time and also shows the film could have been shortened.
"You think I could be your stunt double in Star Wars?"
BlacKkKlansman has an incredible story to tell and that's where it earns many of its points, along with the fantastic cast. My issues with it are more personal and preferential so I can see why others are loving it and calling it one of the year's best -- but what I think we can all agree on is that this story has been long overdue for a film because of how drenched in irony the whole premise is.
CONS
Disagree with the left/right politics or not, I'm not sure the film even needed them to get the same powerful effect it achieves
Some instances of weird editing/cutting
About 30-40 minutes of the film gets into a rinse-and-repeat cycle
PROS
An absolutely outrageous story that is as impressive as it is funny
Speaking of funny, the film has some solidly humorous bits
Strong cast all around. Washington proves he can carry a film vs. being the Rock's co-star
Bonus points for being in Colorado! Pretty scenery
Provides a powerful message, particularly tied to the scenery at the end from last year's Charlottesville craziness
Fitting soundtrack
A fun, strong film that continues the trend of African American films we've been graced with this year
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