'BlacKkKlansman' A Review

BlacKkKlansman is a biographical crime film that follows the first African-American Colorado Springs detective Ron Stallworth(John David Washington) who infiltrates the local KKK by impersonating a prospective member on the phone. His partner Flip Zimmerman(Adam Driver) plays his double in real life and the two begin an undercover investigation.

Washington gives an incredibly ambitious and dynamic performance. He has a natural charm and humor that are perfectly balanced with his somewhat nasal voice, impetuousness, and a striking naive confidence. It's really a layered and pitch-perfect performance with material that rangers far and precariously and tone which Washington(and the cast) navigate with easy assurance. Driver is the straight man to Washington's more far ranging character. He has a solid, determined, affable, almost kind presence in the film(which is welcome) and he has a quiet little arc that resonates and serves as both a potent reminder as well as assurance. Laura Harrier as Ron's love interest Patrice Dumas gives a self-assured, comfortable, and strong performance carving out space in a film crowded with great turns. Topher Grace plays David Duke with a nerdy, bookish menace which feels startlingly authentic. The other KKK members are all buffoons to a certain extent but time is taken with the characters and with their portrayals that give them dimension, they are not just villainous characters. They are strikingly stupid and frighting depictions of reality. They are subjects of derision but the fact they are a threat is never ignored or forgotten.

The script is Lee's best since Inside Man and the most vital since Bamboozled. In some ways 2015's Chi-Raq feels like a warm up to this. Even though the film is set in, presumably, the late 70's it is the first since the 2016 election to address with clarity and authority our current climate. It's mix of humor and horror, struggle and triumph, gags and violence is truly masterful. It has a couple typical Lee flourishes, most notably a stellar barn-burning speech by Corey Hawkins as Kwame Ture, a montage during that speech of faces, opening with Gone With The Wind and actual footage of Charlottesville, but overall the cinematography is relatively restrained for Lee(there is no direct address). There are many striking scenes but one that is lasting is the KKK members watching Birth of a Nation cutting from the actual film to the characters eating popcorn and guffawing.

The film is a palatable shot-across-the-bow of the American public. Spike Lee is warning us, reminding us, that history repeats itself. He does this with an engaging and compelling feature. And, ultimately, the film is hopeful. There is no cynicism here. We are shown it is not too late, there is still opportunity for change.

Don't Miss It.