One very much important, but grim time in our history was that of the Civil Rights era. Differing opinions ran rampant when it came to racial equality or lack thereof. Since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968, these issues have improved, however not without fighting. So now we are handed an outrageous true story of how an African-American police officer infiltrated the KKK in the form of "BlacKkKlansman".
This is the incredible true story of an American hero. It's the early 1970's, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: using a more seasoned colleague, all white Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) as a surrogate and together, the team take down the extreme hate group, otherwise known as the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) lead up by David Duke (Topher Grace) as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream.
Others to round out the cast are Laura Harrier as Patrice Dumas, Jasper Paakkonen as Felix, Ryan Eggold as Walter Breachway, Michael Joseph Buscemi as Jimmy Creek, Corey Hawkins as Kwane Ture, Paul Walter Hauser as Ivanhoe, Ashlie Atkinson as Connie, Alec Baldwin as Dr. Beauregard, Harry Belafonte as Jerome Turner, Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Mr. Turrentine, Robert John Birke as Chief Bridges and Brian Tarrantina as Officer Clay Mulaney.
This was directed with such finesse by veteran Spike Lee ("School Daze" '88, "Do the Right Thing" '89, "Mo' Better Blues" '90, "Jungle Fever" '91, "Malcolm X" '92, "Crooklyn" '94, "Clockers" '95, "Girl 6" '96, "Get on the Bus" '96, "He Got Game" '98, "Summer of Sam" '99, "Bamboozled" 2000, "25th Hour" '02, "She Hate Me" '04, "Inside Man" '06, "Miracle at St. Anna" '08, "Passing Strange" '09, "Red Hook Summer" '12, "Oldboy" '13, "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus" '14, "Chi-Raq" '15, "Rodney King" '17, "Pass Over" '18) plus a ton of documentaries, TV and videos. By this filmmaker's very resume, he is the king at message films, and with this, he demands the attention of his audiences. Through his meticulous choosing of his actors, his characters come to life as Lee strives to teach us through his medium. Love him or not, one cannot deny the multi-faceted director of how talented he really is. With every Spike Lee joint comes a message that he deliberately hits his audience over the head with. It was well thought out by writers, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Lee based on the book by Ron Stallworth. Considering the complexities of the subject matter, these four writers were able to produce a cohesive, concise, well thought-out screenplay. Who else can take such a sensitive and controversial topic as this and turn it around and make it a comedy, albeit, a dark comedy, but one and be able to do it and have it effect its audience as seriously as it does? This film delved into the complexities of prejudice mostly from the black's side and not as much from the white's perspective, but since it was based on a definite story, this would be understanding. We all are prejudice--rent or Netflix "Crash" '05, and you will see what I mean. This is the first film I've seen John David Washington act in and he was class act--but, then again, his dad is Denzel Washington, so there is no surprise here.
Truly, if you are looking for a no-brainer, fluffy, escape type film, you'll probable want to pass on this. I believe that Lee would be hard-pressed to produce an escape film to entertain us since his passion is forever present. No judgment, he has a lot to say, but warm and fuzzy he is not. One thing is for sure, one will learn something whether you want to or not.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: R 134mins.
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