I remember seeing the previews for the film “BlacKkKlansman” and being intrigued by the premise. I wanted to see the movie based on the fact that it was inspired by true events and because it was directed by Spike Lee. Still, I never got around to seeing this in theaters. I ended up coming across the movie again at our local movie rental store, Family Video, so I decided to rent it to see how it turned out.
I have to admit, the previews for “BlacKkKlansman” reminded me a bit of the classic ‘Black White Supremacist’ sketch from “Chappelle’s Show”. Now, the movie was more serious in tone, but they both shared a similar plot. That was just my first impression however.
Now, this film was recently nominated for Best Picture so do I feel it was among the best of the year? Well, I don’t think I would have personally nominated the film for best picture, but I still think it was very enjoyable.
“BlacKkKlansman” tells the story of Detective Ron Stallworth (the first African America detective in Colorado Springs) who decides to infiltrate the KKK and uses his partner, Detective Flip Zimmerman, as his public face. The two start contacting David Duke to gain access to the KKK as part of an under cover investigation in Colorado Springs.
The film was directed by Spike Lee. As stated above, I rented this in part because it is a Spike Lee film and I find the director to be fascinating. Now, that isn’t to say I love all of his films or think he is the best director ever. Instead, I find him to be a director I very much enjoy but often find myself frustrated with because his movies often get bogged down with a sense of self righteousness in my opinion. In a movie like “BlacKkKlansman” with a clear sense of right and wrong, it isn’t as much of an issue however. All that said, I do think he earned his best director Oscar nomination with this film.
The acting relays heavily on that of John David Washington and Adam Driver. John David Washington, the son of Denzel Washington, does a solid job. He isn’t quite on the level of his father yet, but this is a very impressive start and I have no doubt he may end up on his father’s level in no time at all. To me, Adam Driver stole the movie. He gives a realistic and conflicted performance that I found to be the most interesting in the film. Topher Grace plays David Duke and looks the part. He does a good job in the role but there are limits to playing a character like David Duke that you can get by with. Topher Grace could have easily been the next Tom Hanks, it’s kind of sad that he fizzled so quickly after “That ‘70s Show”.
A trait that most Spike Lee ‘joints’ have in my opinion are tone issues and this movie certainly continues that same pattern. The film is presented as both a drama based on actual events and a comedy because those events are so outlandish. It isn’t an easy balance and very few movies strike the right note when trying to balance drama with comedy but it is part of what kept the movie from being a masterpiece in my opinion.
All that being said, “BlacKkKlansman” is an important movie to watch to remind us how toxic our current political climate is. Perhaps a lot more work needs to be done to get our country as a whole to a more tolerant place. It’s sad to realize that a man as terrible as David Duke was a key political figurehead in the past Presidential election.
“BlacKkKlansman” isn’t a perfect film but it is still very good. While I don’t think it was quite Oscar worthy, I can certainly see the argument that can be made that it was.
Grade: B+
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