Director
Spike Lee
(MALCOLM X)

Stars
John David Washington, Adam Driver and Topher Grace

Based on a true story, BlacKkKlansman tells the story of Ron Stallworth, a Police Detective who managed to become a member and eventual chapter leader of the Ku Klux Klan; a seemingly unremarkable achievement if not for the fact that Rob Stallworth is African-American.

Set in 1970’s Colorado, Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington) was actually the first African-American Police Officer and Detective in the Colorado Springs PD. After seeing an advertisement in the newspaper for the local chapter of the KKK, Ron calls and poses as a white, interested new applicant. After getting the go ahead from his senior officers; Ron teams up with a white colleague to do an undercover investigation of the Klan. Ron’s colleague would become the white face of Ron, while Ron would continue to liaise with members of the organisation over the phone.

The film tackles issues of racism within predominantly white Police departments at the time as well as extended society. We get a glimpse into the lives of white supremacists and the communities that enable their existence, and through our characters we see their individual journey into understanding their own race and what exactly that means to them. Given the subject matter of the film, you’d probably expect it to be heavy, but due to the absurdity of some the circumstances; there is an almost ironic humour throughout. Spike Lee does well capture the essence of the period whilst keeping the storytelling contemporary. He highlights the unnerving parallel between racism heavily associated with the early to mid-20^th century, and what’s re-igniting in Trump’s America. There are many scenes of great tension, but it’s broken well by the intelligent use of humour, never overplayed so as to distract from the importance of the story, but still very much a feature of the storytelling.

John David Washington does an outstanding job as Stallworth, although I couldn’t help but be distracted by how much he sounds like his old man (Denzel), and Adam Driver as Ron’s white counterpart is rock solid. The two play well off of each other and the supporting cast add to the infectious vibe of the film, including an interesting turn by Topher Grace as KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke.

BlacKkKlansman wasn’t the film I was expecting it to be, but it certainly didn’t disappoint. It has the feel of a cult classic and wouldn’t be out of place with the awards season ‘darlings’ that will be trotted out in December and January. But most importantly, despite its 40 year old façade, the relevance of its content is more pertinent now than ever.

3.5 stars

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures Australia for the invite to the screening of this film.

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