Now that it's nearing 2019, it's time for me to catch up on this year's movies that I have yet to see. I'm late to the party on this film, but WOW. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman is one of the greatest and most impactful movies that I have seen this year. Filled with astounding performances and an incredibly engaging narrative, this true story has affected me much more than I was originally expecting. Paired with the film's uncanny relevance to today's society, I was absolutely blown away at the social effects of this movie and I am disappointed that it did not get more traction when it was out in theaters.
This true story, based on the book by Ron Stallworth himself and adapted by Spike Lee, is the most unbelievable part of the writing. This film has one of the most original premises ever surrounding race relations and white nationalism in the 1970s and is a perfect blend of drama and dark humor to keep the audience engaged. It was incredible seeing the relationships between the characters develop and how each person, regardless of race or beliefs, shaped the story. There were also many points where I was literally on the edge of my seat with the drama as the character arcs intersected and majorly stressed me out. My only issue with this film is that some of the content in the second and third act felt a lot like filler and it began to drag on a bit too long.
Lee's racial and political filmmaking suits his directing style very well, especially in this film. The biggest shock for me from this film was the shift in narrative in the last few minutes of the movie. I understand why many people were upset about the ending of this film, but I thought it was pure genius. Lee built up this film the entire time to relate to current events happening today and I thought it was a very clever form of storytelling. In addition to almost directly calling out Trump in multiple lines of dialogue, the conclusion consisted of a montage of footage and interviews from the events in Charlottesville last year. Seeing how frighteningly similar the events of this film set in the 1970s were compared to these events from a little over a year ago was terrifying. This was an obviously bold choice for Lee to make in his film, but the way he told his story and set up the modern-day ending is a perfect example of his talent regarding political filmmaking.
While the message and writing of this film is its most prominent aspect, I really enjoyed the performances and editing as well. John David Washington and Adam Driver absolutely steal this film in their practically shared portrayal of Ron Stallworth. Not only did their voices sound surprisingly similar but they played off each others' mannerisms and personalities very well. Topher Grace was also incredible as David Duke, the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. While David Duke is (surprise, surprise) not a great or humorous human being, Grace was able to bring some ironic humor to his version of the character. In fact, in a real-life interview, David Duke The editing by Barry Alexander Brown was notable as well, providing a lot of interesting contrast between the different plots. Showing the multiple perspectives of both the KKK members and the police detectives investigating them made for a great narrative. The scenes with the organization meetings showing the hard cuts between the white nationalists chanting "white power" and the Black Student Union chanting "black power" was very powerful to see as well, showing the absolute intensity of both sides.
Spike Lee is such an unabashedly outspoken filmmaker who is able to make a politically relevant film both humorous and engaging. BlacKkKlansman accomplishes so much in both of these realms, providing an incredible narrative that should be seen by everyone. I would very strongly recommend this movie, not just for the interesting true story but for the eye-opening pertinency of today's political climate.
My Rating: ★★★★
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