Blackklansman

Blackklansman
136 Min
Cert: 15

Cast John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace

Director Spike Lee

In the 1970s the first black detective hired to the Colorado Springs police department Ron Stallings (Washington) is sent undercover at a black power rally, here he meets activist Patrice (Harrier) and is inspired to expose the KKK. In order to do this he phones the local chapter and poses as a white supremacist, the only hitch in the plan is that in order to attend meetings in person he will need a substitute and the only officer willing to take the position is Jewish officer Flip Zimmerman (Driver). What follows is the unbelievable, but true, story of how Stallworth infiltrated the Klan to the highest level, speaking with the 'Grand Wizard' (Grace) while Flip acts as his physical proxy.

I went into the film expecting a deadly serious story but the humour that comes through is surprising and natural, almost feeling as if it is funny without wanting to be. Washington anchors the film remarkably well for his first major lead role, subtly showing the conflicting emotions of being a black man who is also 'THE' man as a police officer, while Driver is phenomenal as the undercover agent having to hide his disdain for the group he is infiltrating. Harrier does well with what she has but I felt she was slightly one dimensional in the later stages of the film.

This is a film that has lived with me in the weeks since I saw it, the shot of wide-eyed black faces listening to Kwame Ture at a rally is beautiful and a later scene juxtaposing the speech of 'Grand Wizard' with Harry Belafonte speaking to the Black Student Union is expertly handled. The inclusion of modern day footage at the end of the film could have easily taken the viewer out of the story or felt overtly political but it left the screening I attended speechless while the credits rolled.

★★★★★