Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Spike Lee, Best Supporting Actor; Adam Driver, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score.
Won: Best Adapted Screenplay.
The year is 1979 and Ron Stallworth has recently become the first black police officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The detective soon recruited a more seasoned colleague named Flip Zimmerman into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream.
BlacKkKlansman is the latest "joint" from writer-director Spike Lee (his films are often referred to as such), and lending Lee a helping hand in regards to scripting, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmott are all credited co-writers on this crazy enterprise. Oh, and by the way, it's all actually based on a true story with the real Ron Stallworth's memoir serving as the film's primary source of inspiration, as the title card reading "dis joint is based on some fo' real, fo' real s---" hilariously informs the audience. While the film's subject matter is certainly serious, BlacKkKlansman is equally comedic as it is dramatic. Humor is often employed as a means of disempowering racism, and it's remarkably effective. You laugh at the Klan members not for their disgusting comments and hateful attitudes, but because the film rightfully portrayed them as clueless dolts with a distasteful and ridiculous ideology. It's quite brilliant actually.
In all honesty, I've never seen any of Lee's films before, but I quickly got the gist that he's not a man for subtlety. I could really care less what your political leanings are, but I can see some on-the-nose dialogue about Trump and the film's epilogue upsetting a certain sect, and I imagine there will be plenty of boycotts and things of that nature once white supremacists get wind of it. Otherwise, I find it hard to believe anything presented will be construed as offensive to anyone else. Regardless, it's going to get people talking and already has in a lot of ways. Whether it be the Oscar buzz and critical acclaim it's garnering or a serious conversation about racial relations in America, people are talking about it.
Best of all, is the fair, balanced take on many of the socio-political issues Lee chose to tackle. When it comes to those relevant topics, BlacKkKlansman never feels lopsided in the slightest. Though the film rightfully doesn't excuse abhorrent racist behavior either... In that regard, Lee expresses his anger at our situation today not only within the context of his narrative, but also in the film's epilogue which stitches together footage from the rallies and riots that occurred a year ago in Charlottesville. Sure to leave an impression on audiences, the video is infuriating and repulsive to watch. A harsh reminder that the problems plaguing these characters are real ones people have to face everyday.
As for production value, BlacKkKlansman is made in the style of a '70s blaxploitation flick and the film's atmosphere reflects that. The cinematography, costuming, production design, and score are all especially authentic to the era and exceptionally executed. Admittedly, a love-interest sub-plot could have been better integrated and on-the-nose political commentary seems out place in the context of the ongoing story, but these grievances are ultimately insubstantial.
Performance-wise, BlacKkKlansman has it's fair share of all-stars. It should really come as no surprise that Denzel's son, John David Washington, would display a knack for dramatic acting as well as sharp comedic sensibilities, but Washington steps out of his father's shadow to prove himself just as capable of excelling in a leading role. Opposite Washington, Laura Harrier shines as an outspoken activist while Adam Driver is exceptional as per usual playing an undercover cop. In recent years, Driver has quickly become a favorite supporting actor of mine and is easily one of the most consistent actors working today. In the role of Zimmerman, he once again proves to be at home playing characters with a conflicted nature. Though his screen-time is fleeting, Harry Belafonte's recollection to an obscene act of violence is no less impactful, proving to be one of the film's most powerful scenes when all is said-and-done.
Meanwhile, to fill out the Klan, Lee needed actors who could qualify as both buffoons and ferocious psychopaths. By falling for Stallworth's ruse, a degree of incompetence was necessary, but the Klansmen needed to be a credible threat for the purposes of a realistic portrayal as well. Walking that fine line, Topher Grace depicts David Duke as a mild-mannered racist, Jasper Pääkkönen's Felix is about as despicable as they get, and Paul Walter Hauser, the breakout star of I, Tonya, continues to inspire bouts of laughter with excellent comedic timing as an inept Klansman.
To sum things up, BlacKkKlansman is not only one of the year's best films, but also one of 2018's most important. The Birth of a Nation is brought up as a 1915 blockbuster that inspired violence against black communities, but here's hoping Lee's latest joint is able to do the opposite and put racists back where they belong: out of sight and out of mind.
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