Spike Lee is a director whose name was known to me years before I had seen any of his films. He is a filmmaker who does not shy away from his political beliefs and is not afraid to voice them in public which has made him a 'controversial' figure in certain circles, and these political beliefs are all there in his films with Lee focusing on race relations in several of his films with particular focus being on the experience of black people in race relation conflicts. The only other film I had seen of Lee's before BlacKkKlansman (2018) is She's Gotta Have It (1986) which focuses less on race relations and delves more into the general black experience, showing this through the eyes of a young woman. However, there is no shying away from the focus of race relations in BlacKkKlansman. It is a film that is set in 1979 and shows the problems with relations that were present then, but also comments on problems and conflicts in today’s society with its story. The story is based on the real story of Ron Stallworth, a black police officer in the Colorado Springs police force, although it is also quite heavily fictionalised. The film follows Ron (John David Washington) as he attempts to infiltrate and bring down the Colorado Springs section of the Ku Klux Klan. However, being a black man, he is unable to make contact in person and so he builds up a relationship with the members over the phone, even getting so far as to establish a relationship with David Duke (the grand wizard of the Klan), while his colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), will portray Ron in person.
The films tone is one of both a comedy and a horror. I don't remember a film in recent memory that had me laughing one scene to being crippling tense the very next scene, and even sometimes having both emotions in conflict during the same scene. The tone is handled really well, especially the comedy aspects of the film considering the subject matter that the film focuses on. Speaking on the subject matter, this film is not subtle in its political views at all. I don't say this as a criticism as it is a film that is meant to have a point and make a comment on the problems in America in 2018, but I point it out mainly because several laughs in the film come from these unsubtle political comments, with the jokes being mainly at the expense at Donald Trump (absolutely no surprise there). One line in particular accuses Trump of being on par with his racism and political views as David Duke with Ron saying that Americans would never vote a man like Duke into the Whitehouse. Not exactly the subtlest jab at Trump, but it is played mainly for a laugh. However, the ending takes any of the slight subtlety that the film had and completely throws it out the window with a deeply uncomfortable image of a Ku Klux Klan cross burning which is followed by a montage of real life footage from the White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. These images show the beginning of the rally as well as the violence that ensued, even including the footage of the car that struck and killed Heather Heyer who was protesting the rally. Images of people crying, screaming, giving testimonials and being attacked is intercut with Trumps press conference which followed the event, and it is a deeply powerful and moving ending. It is difficult to watch, but it needs to be watched. You can't drag your eyes away from the screen even though what you are seeing is uncomfortable viewing. I think the biggest testament to this sequence in the film can be seen in how the audience I saw the film with reacted. It was not a rowdy crowd in any way but there was gently chatter through some moments of the film (nothing to overboard so I can abide it). But after this sequence happened and the film went silent there was not a single noise to be heard in the room. It was a strange experience but a completely understandable one, the scene is just that powerful.
In terms of direction the film is made very well, as you would expect from a man with 83 directing credits to his name. The film is shot beautifully throughout, and there are several creative techniques and sequences that added a creative flair to the film. There is the obvious Spike Lee dolly shot which he uses in all his films, but the scene I want to focus on is where Ron is undercover at a speech being made by Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins). In this scene while Ture is making his speech (which is a very powerful speech and is brilliantly delivered by Hawkins) Lee keeps showing the almost blank faces of the audience members super imposed over a completely black background. It gives the scene much more of an impact as it makes it seem much more personal as you feel a connection with these people even if you only see their faces for a moment. It is a very well-done sequence and one of my favourite moments of the year. As for the performances in the film, everyone does a fantastic job. Topher Grace does a very good job as David Duke (yes, really) and Alec Baldwin’s cameo as Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard is a very entraining opening for the film. However, there are three standout performances in the film. The first two I have mentioned briefly with Washington as Ron and Driver as Flip being both superb throughout the film. They both have great chemistry throughout and both really drag you into the world through their performances. Adam Driver has been quickly making his way up my favourite actors list and this film does not slow his trajectory down one bit. But the stand out performance for me come from Jasper Paakkonen as Felix Kendrickson, the most aggressive and hateful member of the Colorado clan. He is bloody terrifying, and I mean shit your pants terrifying. He is scarier than any horror villain I've seen recently, and even though the performance is slightly over the top I think it helps because it just gives a sense of how unbalanced this dickhead is and Paakkonen does a great job in making Felix the most detestable member of a massively detestable group of characters. I had not heard of Paakkonen before this film, but his performance has put him on my radar and I will be looking out for him in the future.
BlacKkKlansman is a film that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, but it was well worth riding. It is a brilliantly shot and performed film with a political backbone that does not shy away. Lee has clearly set out to make a film that may alienate some audience members, but he is not making a blockbuster here. He has made a film which has a point to make and it makes it in a brutal and punching way, whilst also remaining an extremely entertaining film. It is a film that punches you in the gut with its climax and I can't recommend it enough. It may be one of the most important films to come out this year when you consider the message it has, and I implore all of you to go out and watch it.