Review: BlacKkKlansman Is Intriguing, Funny, And A Touch Too Political
- Aug 27, 2018
- 3 min read
I don't like Spike Lee. I don't like most of his movies, I don't like most of his rash rhetoric, and I don't like his heavy-handed story telling. I do however, like BlacKkKlansman...mostly.
In an unlikely and improbable twist, and a surprisingly true one, Colorado Springs police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African-American, joins the Ku Klux Klan or at least pretends to. Working alongside fellow detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), Ron provides the voice on the phone, and the direction, while Flip himself provides the white appearance needed to infiltrate such a group. Believing that the KKK are planning an attack of some form, Ron soon finds himself playing cat and mouse with a radical group, dodging racism within his own department, and attempting to woo a strong willed Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), all while speaking to the Grand Wizard himself, David Duke (Topher Grace).
BlacKkKlansman is a lot of things. It's a buddy cop comedy, a biopic, a police drama, and a politically charged film, all at the same time. For the most part, it succeeds. It is often hilarious, both in the dark way, and in the more conventional way, poking fun at the absurdity of a group like the KKK. It can be tense, with the audience not knowing what will happen next, if the penny will drop, and some scenes are genuinely nail biting. The whole thing is wrapped up with an endearing style and catchy soundtrack, making for an incredibly easy watch.
John David Washington, son of superstar Denzel Washington, is excellent, without flaw. He plays both sides of the same coin so well that it's easy to forget he's playing a real person. One moment he's talking blacksplotation film Patrice, the next he's playing a zealot who despises all things non-white and Jewish. I foresee great things in his future. Driver and Harrier are also great, giving different perspectives and playing off the various situations that unfold with endless entertainment value. The true standout however, comes in the form of Topher Grace who, and Grand Wizard David Duke, gives a performance that is somehow reserved and over the top, all at once, making him endlessly watchable.
However, all good things must come to an end and, when Ron Stallworth's story comes to a close, and when the movie should have finished, we are hit with a series of clips and interviews regarding 2017's Charlottesville riots. And here it is, Spike Lee's sledgehammer to the face politicism. I must assume that it existed to show that Nazism and white supremacy still exist in America today, and I can appreciate that, but it comes of feeling more like Spike himself running into the cinema and screaming "NAZIS ARE BAD. DON'T BE RACIST." Yeah, no shit Spike. Had he handed it with a little more tact, a little more finesse, it may not have come off as such, but between violent clashes, angry chanting, and footage of the ultimately fatal car attack that brought the riots to a close, the whole thing feels like a ham-fisted attempt at shocking the viewer into realising who the enemy is. Despite the fact that, you know, Nazis are generally considered by almost all of humanity to be less than good guys.
The movie part of BlacKkKlansman is great, excellent even. it gives you everything you want, and maybe a little more. However, I couldn't help but leave the cinema with a bad taste in my mouth following such a poorly thought out closing sequence.
Comments