"With the right white man we can do anything."
For four decades Spike Lee has been defining the American
experience and social environment at each specific point in time through his
filmmaking. In the 1980s he shone a spotlight on racial tension with ‘Do the
Right Thing’, in the 1990s his biopic ‘Malcolm X’ utilised activism and growth
from the past to reflect the films contemporary context. Then he distilled post
9/11 anxiety in the quietly beautiful ‘25th Hour’. Now in the 2010s
he brings us ‘BlacKkKlansman’, and it goes saying that Lee has some topics he
wants to discuss.
It’s the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David
Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado
Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth
bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux
Klan. Teaming up with a white officer named Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), the
two detectives descend into a world of prejudice, hate and extremism.
Roger Ebert wrote of Lee that while some have labelled him
an angry filmmaker such a description oversimplifies his message, that being
said if Lee is angry he has plenty to be angry for. Perhaps it isn’t just anger
that punctuates a lot of ‘BlacKKlansman’ but rather more disappointment. The
fact that a story about race relations in the 1970s feels so painfully applicable
to the world of today is a depressing realisation. Lee wants to note the
heroism in the actions of Stallworth, but there’s an underlying sadness to how
we seem to have regressed since then.
In case you were unaware this is a heavily political movie,
so it would be somewhat insulting to pretend that there is any way to review it
outside of politics. Lee’s intent is clear and obvious, drawing direct parallels
to present day America. The last few minutes of ‘BlacKklansman’ are a gut punch
that adds greater context and meaning to the story that preceded them. It’s
emotionally provocative and powerfully direct. Spike Lee has indeed made
another decade defining masterpiece, but saying that a story like this will
define the 2010s is a hard pill to swallow.
Ironically, for a film that has so many heavy social themes,
‘BlacKkKlansman’ sees Lee at his most free spirited and playful. Despite the
underlying darkness, Lee approaches Stallwprth’s story with the finesse of a crime
caper, carrying comedic undertones you would expect to see from the likes of Tarantino
or the Coen Brothers. For a Spike Lee film it’s incredibly accessible, often striking
a delicate balance between humour and discomfort. The inherent absurdity behind
this true story is never lost on Lee and his filmmaking is often keen to
highlight that.
I’m finding it difficult to even discuss ‘BlacKklansman’ in
anything other than a broader sense because in many ways it embodies Lee’s
career as a whole to this point. Having often reconciled his activist
sensibilities with his clear affinity for classic Hollywood storytelling, it’s
Lee’s ability to render these complex issues as accessible stories that has
made his statements within each effort feel so bold. The directness of Lee’s
statement strikes a heavy contrast to the
immersive portrait he crafts. His visual language in ‘BlacKKlansman’
regularly follows a trait of framing the characters in tight close ups only to
then cut to a wider angle. It’s as if Lee draws the viewer into the story where
he delivers the ugly prejudice with a wry comedic wit, only to then take a step
back and in doing so asks the viewer to do the same where the true horror hits
you. It’s an effective one-two punch that the film evokes numerous times.
But having talked so much about themes it’s important to remember
that ‘BlacKkKlansman’ is quite simply an electrifying piece of filmmaking. The
dialogue is crisp and sharp, the story jumps from moments of dark comedy to
nail biting tension without ever carrying a tonal disconnect. The film balances
its comedic wit, involving tension, heavy themes and empathic characterisations
in a terrifically paced and thoroughly entertaining package. It manages to
interweave a series of conversational set pieces that clearly act as a means
for Lee to deliver his statement and topics but these scenes never feel heavy
handed or manipulative. They are just as engaging as the film’s central plot.
Part of that engagement comes from a number of excellent
performances. As the son of Denzel I can’t even fathom how much expectation was
laid upon John David Washington but he carries the same spark of charisma as
his father (and praise can’t really come come much higher than that). Washington
has a youthful energy to his performance that constantly reinforces his drive
and determination to make a difference. Simultaneously though this energy often
transforms into a quiet gravitas as the wider context of what Stallworth’s case
says about America as a whole.
Then there is Adam Driver who further cements himself as one
of the most gifted actors in today’s filmic landscape. Unlike Stallworth,
Zimmerman has a greater sense of development in how he begins to reconnect with
his Jewish heritage upon seeing unrestrained anti-Semitism up close and just as
his partner struggles to separate the professional from the persona, so does
he. Driver conveys every step of that arc with absolute perfection, saying in a
single gesture what actors would struggle to do in a paragraph of speech. As
well as that, everything about Topher Grace’s turn as David Duke, from the execution
to just the mere notion of casting such an unlikely choice for the role, is
absolute genius.
‘BlacKkKlansman’ is provocative and direct in a way that few
films dare to be, as well as hugely entertaining and engaging.
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