Focus Features
"BlacKkKlansman"
- Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman" is a movie you need to see, regardless if you are a fan of his movies or not.
- Looking back on the true story of a black police detective who infiltrates a local Ku Klux Klan chapter, it has to be seen to be believed.
Spike Lee has spent his filmmaking career delving into stories that look at the rotten side of America, and what he does in "BlacKkKlansman" is the best work he's done in years.
Looking back on the real-life story of an African-American Colorado Springs police detective Ron Stallworth, who in the 1970s infiltrated the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, Lee doesn't just recount the wild happenings of Stallworth (played in the movie by John David Washington) and the white detective who would impersonate him at Klan meetings, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Lee also shows the scary resemblance 1970s America has with what's going on in the country today.
Not since Lee's 1992 masterwork "Malcolm X" has the director been able to weave together such a powerful story that's as much historic as it is a reflection of ourselves. Lee has certainly done it since, with powerful works like 2000's "Bamboozled" and his "When the Levees Broke" documentary series, but not since "Malcolm X" has Lee really driven home the country's continued struggle with racism and bigotry.
John David Washington, the son of Denzel Washington (who starred in numerous Lee movies, including "Malcolm X"), plays Stallworth as a man driven to make a change in his community - which leads him to the highest ranks of the Klan. Yes, he really would have conversations with former Klan grand wizard David Duke (Topher Grace gives a great performance).
But Lee also doesn't shy from the absurdity of the situation Stallworth is in, and includes some extremely funny moments throughout.
Lee shows that sometimes to get through the pain all you can do is laugh.
See where "BlacKkKlansman" is playing near you.
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