BlacKkKlansman

Rating: 5/5

A movie that I enjoyed much more than I had anticipated, BlacKkKlansman is a film full of the unexpected.

In the late 1970's, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) has just joined the Colorado Springs Police Department. He has been warned by his chief that he may receive unfair treatment due to the fact that he is African American and they have never had a member of the force be a different ethnicity, but Ron refuses to let the small minded members of the force get to him. However, when his first assignment turns out to be in the filing department, his ability to ignore the racists comments of his fellow officers begins to run thin, and Ron goes to request an assignment out in the field. Though a struggle at first, Ron is officially moved from filing and given orders to go undercover at a Black Panther meeting and wear a wire to get evidence of a potential race war that may be brewing.

A few days after the meeting, Ron is at his desk and sees an add in the paper for the Klu Klux Klan, and gives a call to the number provided. When the other line answers, Ron begins impersonating a white supremacist, and getting deep intel about the Klan. His new plan to uncover the secrets of the Klan appears full-proof, that is until the chapter president Walter Breachway (Ryan Eggold) requests a face to face meeting with Ron. Knowing there is no way for him to actually go to this meeting, Ron's fellow detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), must go in his place and pretend to be Ron. Using Ron's phone persona, Flip finds himself as a secret imposter of the Klan, and able to get information previously undiscovered by law enforcement, allowing for an intense and dangerous undercover mission.

BlacKkKlansman is truly a movie unlike any other that I have seen. It has the ability to be quite funny at times, but yet completely horrifying given its' premise. Even though there certain aspects to the film that were fabricated, from what I understand, the content involving the Klan was very factual. We know the Klan existed, though it is still almost too terrible to believe to be real. It is hard to fathom how people could be so blind to what is right and wrong. The characters of this film face an almost impossible level of adversity, yet they do so with a wit and ease that is shocking at times, but unexpectedly humorous.

The editing and style in this film are some of my favorite things about it. It goes from 70's action cop sequences to heartbreaking moments of the characters' reality beginning to sink in. All pieces are excellent for the different feelings and reactions they evoke, making BlacKkKlansman to be a complicated film, where the audience goes from one heightened emotion to the next.

The acting in BlacKkKlansman is just as brilliant as the rest of the elements of the film. Even though you know the cast portraying the Klansmen are just acting, it is practically impossible not to think of them without feeling a deep hatred towards them and their actions. Adam Driver's portrayal of Flip as he's trying to convince the Klan of his identity is awe inspiring, yet unsettling. You worry with every moment that he's going to slip and reveal his secret, but his performance as an actor playing a role and a detective undercover, convince both the audience and the characters on the screen of his motives, whatever they may be in order to fit the circumstance. As far as John David Washington's performance, it is equally as memorable as Driver's. At the beginning of the undercover operation, Ron knows the stakes of the mission, but still he follows through with the assignment with a bit of excitement and cheek. However, as he gets deeper and deeper into the world of the Klan, you can see the events begin to take its' toll on him, and that is due to the impeccable performance given by Washington. His dedication to the character makes every moment of the movie believable, infuriating, and empowering.

I would not have considered myself a fan of Stan Lee before this film, but BlacKkKlansman definitely altered my overall opinion towards his work. I can honestly say I am disappointed Lee didn't win Best Director at the Academy Awards for this film, because it most definitely deserved it.

2019 Winner Best Adapted Screenplay- Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmott,