dir. by Spike Lee
written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmot, and Spike Lee
For a good while now, Spike Lee has balanced his for-hire work with much more idiosyncratic projects, every Oldboy remake or NBA 2K story mode balanced with oddities like a Chicago-set adaptation of an ancient Greek play, or a story about a man cursed with a thirst for blood. Given that recent history, BlacKkKlansman is one of his more straightforward premises, a biopic based on a particularly strange piece of history, with a lot of work already done by the premise. On the other hand, the film comes as not only Lee's first Palme d'Or competitor since 1991's Jungle Fever, but also as the winner of the second-place Grand Prix at that same festival.
Indeed, it's the relative accessibility of the film which is its greatest strength. Here, Lee has crafted a funny, tense crowd-pleaser while intertwining pointed social commentary into the humour and narrative, and the result is a film which is equally thoughtful and entertaining. The film is professional and straightforward without being mindless, and at the same time it's intelligent and righteous without being self-indulgent... well, mostly. Come for the crazy premise, stay for the sharp critique of American institutional racism.
Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and very quickly, he manages to get an undercover assignment monitoring a rally by civil rights leader Kwame Ture. Transferred to the intelligence division after the rally, Stallworth immediately attempts to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, calling their local chapter while pretending to be a white man. Following the initial call, he recruits a Jewish co-worker, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), to attend Klan rallies in his place. Meanwhile, Stallworth begins a relationship with Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), the president of a local black student union.
BlacKkKlansman takes advantage of the dramatic irony inherent to that premise for both comedy and drama. Particularly tense are occasions where Stallworth or Zimmerman are about to lose their cover, and while this is a fairly conventional source of suspense, it often takes unconventional forms. This is particularly thanks to the character of Felix Kendrickson (Jasper Pääkkönen), a radicalized and paranoid Klansman who spends much of the film suspicious of Zimmerman. The film is very successful at shifting to that suspense from otherwise comic scenes, and this is in part due to the fact that it derives both from the Klan members' attitudes.
Indeed, the humour is also relatively predictable, but Lee brings his sharp comic timing to the various gags which come with a black man and a secular Jew masquerading as white supremacists, as well as to other simple gags, such as Stallworth accidentally using his real name. The film has fun with the arcane politics of the Klan: one particularly sharp series of gags centres around their so-called "image problem," and another surrounds a Klansman's wife who just wants to contribute. Meanwhile, the film's dialogue derives flavour from specific character personalities, and it provides for some organic, candid conversations, filled with playful banter and mild wit alongside increasing stress when the assignment gets complicated.
Particularly endearing is the relationship between Stallworth and Dumas, whose growing relationship is underscored by charming banter and genuine chemistry between Washington and Harrier. They also talk bluntly about whether it's moral for Stallworth to continue working within a racist system. Lee provides visual evidence of police racism early on, and over the course of the film Stallworth finds it increasingly challenging to defend his continued service as a police officer. Conversely, Stallworth's conversations with his co-workers - especially Zimmerman - often revolve around the department's refusal to deal with these problems. There's also a relatively vague thread about these characters becoming increasingly conscious of their own identities, but for better and for worse, this is left somewhat ambiguous.
It's to the film's credit that it conveys these themes without compromising its straightforward cop drama, and while the screenwriters aren't afraid to take strong stances on thorny issues, they also mostly resist the urge to sermonize. Most of the ideas about systemic racism and racial identity are a natural extension of the plot, coming up organically as a result of character interactions. There are exceptions, however: the aforementioned Kwame Ture rally is depicted in full, there's a lengthy sequence regarding the D.W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation, and it ends with a cut to actual contemporary news footage. Mostly, these moves come across as heavy-handed and self-indulgent, but I presume they're not meant for me. I just hope the ignorant audiences Lee seeks to educate are receptive to his ideas.
BlacKkKlansman successfully blends its straightforward narrative with politically-charged themes, providing a funny and gripping cop narrative which intelligently depicts not only the more extreme side of white supremacy, but also the institutions which enable them. Despite its imperfections - aside from the sermonizing, there are some optimistic beats which verge on wish fulfillment - its blend of inviting surface pleasures and challenging subtext is hugely admirable, and it's highly entertaining regardless. Despite that soup of writers listed above, the film is brisk, focused, and daring; it's mainstream, but it's not watered down.
8/10
+ Humorous and tense in equal measure.
+ Righteously angry without overwhelming the narrative.
+ Surprisingly thoughtful regarding the ideal form of change.
- Occasional self-indulgent sermonizing.
- Some late twists might be a bit naive.
- Audiovisual style is relatively anonymous, considering the director.
Thank you to my Patreon supporters:
Todd Throndson
VioletWisp
Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Support me on Patreon!
Indeed, the humour is also relatively predictable, but Lee brings his sharp comic timing to the various gags which come with a black man and a secular Jew masquerading as white supremacists, as well as to other simple gags, such as Stallworth accidentally using his real name. The film has fun with the arcane politics of the Klan: one particularly sharp series of gags centres around their so-called "image problem," and another surrounds a Klansman's wife who just wants to contribute. Meanwhile, the film's dialogue derives flavour from specific character personalities, and it provides for some organic, candid conversations, filled with playful banter and mild wit alongside increasing stress when the assignment gets complicated.
Particularly endearing is the relationship between Stallworth and Dumas, whose growing relationship is underscored by charming banter and genuine chemistry between Washington and Harrier. They also talk bluntly about whether it's moral for Stallworth to continue working within a racist system. Lee provides visual evidence of police racism early on, and over the course of the film Stallworth finds it increasingly challenging to defend his continued service as a police officer. Conversely, Stallworth's conversations with his co-workers - especially Zimmerman - often revolve around the department's refusal to deal with these problems. There's also a relatively vague thread about these characters becoming increasingly conscious of their own identities, but for better and for worse, this is left somewhat ambiguous.
It's to the film's credit that it conveys these themes without compromising its straightforward cop drama, and while the screenwriters aren't afraid to take strong stances on thorny issues, they also mostly resist the urge to sermonize. Most of the ideas about systemic racism and racial identity are a natural extension of the plot, coming up organically as a result of character interactions. There are exceptions, however: the aforementioned Kwame Ture rally is depicted in full, there's a lengthy sequence regarding the D.W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation, and it ends with a cut to actual contemporary news footage. Mostly, these moves come across as heavy-handed and self-indulgent, but I presume they're not meant for me. I just hope the ignorant audiences Lee seeks to educate are receptive to his ideas.
BlacKkKlansman successfully blends its straightforward narrative with politically-charged themes, providing a funny and gripping cop narrative which intelligently depicts not only the more extreme side of white supremacy, but also the institutions which enable them. Despite its imperfections - aside from the sermonizing, there are some optimistic beats which verge on wish fulfillment - its blend of inviting surface pleasures and challenging subtext is hugely admirable, and it's highly entertaining regardless. Despite that soup of writers listed above, the film is brisk, focused, and daring; it's mainstream, but it's not watered down.
8/10
+ Humorous and tense in equal measure.
+ Righteously angry without overwhelming the narrative.
+ Surprisingly thoughtful regarding the ideal form of change.
- Occasional self-indulgent sermonizing.
- Some late twists might be a bit naive.
- Audiovisual style is relatively anonymous, considering the director.
Thank you to my Patreon supporters:
Todd Throndson
VioletWisp
Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Support me on Patreon!
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