A journey through hate, also known as ‘BlacKkKlansman’

Spike Lee has returned with his newest film to hit theaters, “BlacKkKlansman.” With a legacy as arguably the most influential African American director working today, does Lee’s newest “joint” have what it takes being included in such a filmography?

The film, based on a true story, tells the story of Ron Stallworth, the first African American detective to work at the Colorado Springs, Colorado police department in 1972. He finds a way to infiltrate a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with the assistance of his experienced Jewish coworker. While doing this, he is also assigned to go undercover to investigate a black student union where he develops a relationship with the union’s president. It all leads to the two worlds slowly, but surely, ready to ignite war amongst each other.

“BlacKkKlansman” is a film with a lot going for it. The film does a great job at keeping some level of moral ambiguity amongst the characters. While it is easy to identify who are the bad guys in this story, Lee takes the time for us to understand both the student union and the KKK to see how their group dynamics work.

The KKK members are nasty racists with sinister intentions, but the film takes the time to allow us to feel their warm comradery. The student union, while being harshly victimized, are constantly discriminating against others not in their group and looking down at those not willing to fight. It not only adds more layers to the characters, but allows for our protagonists to reassess their preconceived notions on things — including what their racial backgrounds mean to them.

The entirety of the conflict felt surprisingly huge in its scale, despite taking place in one small town. Lee makes you feel a part of the action and drenches you in the atmosphere. The pure intensity of wondering if their plan will be foiled is a constant feeling, particularly during the nail-biting climax.

Being a Spike Lee film, there is no shortage of personality on display. The production and costume design helped make the film feel faithful to the time, while also paying homage to blaxploitation cinema of the 1970s. The cinematography helped and added great tension to certain moments, with a series of long takes helping hold the suspenseful tone. The music was amazing as well, with both a solid soundtrack of ’70s tunes and an incredible original score by Terence Blanchard that helped give the conflict its grand scope.

The performances across the board are all well done. The standouts mainly belong to our two leads played by John David Washington and Adam Driver. Washington’s deadpan line deliveries hide his character’s true emotions during heavy moments, while Driver cleverly handles some of the more morally complex scenes in the film. Other worthy roles to mention include Topher Grace as David Duke, the Grand Wizard of the KKK, and Laura Harrier as the student union president Patrice.

The film does come with a few flaws that keeps it from perfection. Easily its biggest issue comes with its pacing. The film’s 135 minute runtime, while not boring, is noticeable as we enter the final act. To make up for this, the film tries to jump around from location to location to attempt to keep its audience entertained throughout. This wasn’t very effective as some of the locations and characters get more attention than others, making certain plot elements feel unbalanced. The film could’ve benefited from some smoother editing and transitions at times to help fix this.

Also, while most of Lee’s creative decisions added to the film’s personality, there were a few moments and characters that were more obnoxious. In particular, one of the wives of the KKK members played by Ashlie Atkinson was a bit over-the-top with both her acting and the material given to her that clashed with the movie’s heavier moments.

In the end, however, “BlacKkKlansman” is still a worthwhile and, in this day and age, necessary experience. Whereas many films with agendas come off as overly preachy (*cough* “Black Panther” *cough*), this is a film with something to say and says it in the best executed way possible. It isn’t perfect, but the impact after seeing it is one that can’t be ignored and demands to be experienced.