I wouldn't call myself a Spike Lee fan as I've only seen three of his films, one of which —Oldboy— I hated, but nonetheless I was very excited about BlacKkKlansman as it looked interesting and I was intrigued by the cast.
Based on the memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, the film tells the story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African American police officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department who in the 1970s successfully managed to infiltrate the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of his Jewish colleague, Detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), who he convinced to go undercover as a white supremacist.
This is one of those stories that sounds too crazy, too unreal to be true, so it was only a matter of time before someone turned into a movie. I'm glad it was Spike Lee because his storytelling is so compelling that you get sucked right into the story and it's the same with BlacKkKlansman. Despite the many liberties he took with it —according to the internet since I haven't read Stallworth's book, the romance never happened, the KKK bomb plot is fabricated, and Stallworth's colleague wasn't even Jewish—, the story is engaging and fun, and also has an important, powerful message to deliver.
Unfortunately, the message is constantly shoved down our throats, especially at the end when we are shown actual footage of 2017 Charlottesville —it does serve as a reminder that those hateful people aren't gone, that things haven't changed much in forty years, but it doesn't fit with the overall humorous tone of the film.
The characters would be another of BlacKkKlansman's problems. They are nothing but caricatures and as such they actions and behaviours are very predictable and they also are very forgettable. It's okay when it comes to the KKK members as one-dimensional characters are more than what they deserve, but characters like Stallworth, Zimmerman or even Patrice (Laura Harrier), the president of the Black Student Union Stallworth starts dating, aren't as fleshed out as they should have been. So much more could have been done with those characters it angers me.
Despite this, the cast does a great job. John David Washington has such a commanding presence and he is very believable as the clever and quirky black cop in a white world. Adam Driver is also excellent as Washington's Jewish colleague Flip and has a wonderful chemistry with Washington. It's Topher Grace that absolutely steals the show though as his portrayal of David Duke, the clan's leader, is both haunting and incredibly captivating.
Another positive aspect of BlacKkKlansman is the visuals. The cinematography by Chayse Irvin and the editing are very interesting and they help the movie achieve an authentic 1970s vibe. As for the soundtrack, it works very well with the looks.
Ultimately, BlacKkKlansman isn't a terrible film as the story is engaging, the cast outstand and Lee's screenplay finds a great balance of humour and drama, but the characters and the message that is constantly forced onto us left me with a bitter aftertaste as if a huge opportunity was wasted.
This is one of those stories that sounds too crazy, too unreal to be true, so it was only a matter of time before someone turned into a movie. I'm glad it was Spike Lee because his storytelling is so compelling that you get sucked right into the story and it's the same with BlacKkKlansman. Despite the many liberties he took with it —according to the internet since I haven't read Stallworth's book, the romance never happened, the KKK bomb plot is fabricated, and Stallworth's colleague wasn't even Jewish—, the story is engaging and fun, and also has an important, powerful message to deliver.
Unfortunately, the message is constantly shoved down our throats, especially at the end when we are shown actual footage of 2017 Charlottesville —it does serve as a reminder that those hateful people aren't gone, that things haven't changed much in forty years, but it doesn't fit with the overall humorous tone of the film.
The characters would be another of BlacKkKlansman's problems. They are nothing but caricatures and as such they actions and behaviours are very predictable and they also are very forgettable. It's okay when it comes to the KKK members as one-dimensional characters are more than what they deserve, but characters like Stallworth, Zimmerman or even Patrice (Laura Harrier), the president of the Black Student Union Stallworth starts dating, aren't as fleshed out as they should have been. So much more could have been done with those characters it angers me.
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| Focus Features |
Another positive aspect of BlacKkKlansman is the visuals. The cinematography by Chayse Irvin and the editing are very interesting and they help the movie achieve an authentic 1970s vibe. As for the soundtrack, it works very well with the looks.
Ultimately, BlacKkKlansman isn't a terrible film as the story is engaging, the cast outstand and Lee's screenplay finds a great balance of humour and drama, but the characters and the message that is constantly forced onto us left me with a bitter aftertaste as if a huge opportunity was wasted.
E' un film di Spike Lee, nel bene e nel male. A me è piaciuto, ma capisco i tuoi dubbi: quelli che a te paiono difetti (personaggi, forzature, registro) fanno parte del suo modo di essere, di fare cinema. Senza queste caratteristiche (che possono anche non piacere, ci mancherebbe), non sarebbe un film di Spike Lee. Diciamo che dopo anni di film brutti o insignificanti, con questo è perlomeno tornato a buoni livelli, a quel cinema impegnato e militante che lo ha sempre contraddistinto in carriera.
ReplyDeleteSu quello sono d'accordo. Finalmente è tornato a fare bei film. Sono rimasta un po' delusa perché forse mi aspettavo qualcosa all'altezza di Malcolm X o La 25a ora.
DeleteI enjoyed this one quite a bit more than you. I agree the characters left something to be desired, but story-telling was so good that I didn't mind. The mix of humor and drama really worked, and as you said, the chemistry between Washington and Driver was outstanding. Both men gave fantastic performances while I actually thought Topher Grace was a weak point. I get that the ending is a take it or leave it kind of thing. It's almost wholly extraneous, sits apart from the rest of the film, and could easily have been nixed. That said, I was okay with it. It provided a jolt I think it needed to.
ReplyDeleteWhat?! You didn't like Grace?!
DeleteI disagree about the message. I'm glad Lee was so in your face with everything, especially now that we have a president who would rather call racists "very fine people" then condemn them. I'm sorry you didn't like it more!
ReplyDeleteI guess it works better for an American audience than a foreign one.
DeleteHave to agree with your assessment of the film, my review came to much the same conclusions, especially the lack of character development when it came to the supporting cast, if you took Laura Harrier’s character out of the film I don’t believe the outcome would be particularly different, especially given that her character isn’t based on real life, it was written in due to the lack of female characters
ReplyDeleteAnd I cannot tell you how annoying that was. If you want to add a female character, please make her relevant to the story. Or else just don't have a female character. Period.
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