Review #1,427: 'BlacKkKlansman' (2018)

Although he is still producing an impressive body of work, it feels like Spike Lee has been away from the mainstream for an age. When Jordan Peele brought him the unbelievably true story of Ron Stallworth, a black detective who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s, Lee jumped at the chance to tackle what would be his biggest joint since 2013's rather pointless Oldboy remake. If the movie didn't tell you as much at the introduction, you would likely have a difficult time believing that what you are seeing actually (well, kinda) happened. Based on Stallworth's memoir Black Klansman, Lee takes the story and successfully manipulates it into a commentary on racial hostility in the U.S. and its circular momentum throughout the country's history. Not only that, but BlacKkKlansman is also a funny police procedural that tips its outlandish hat to the blaxsploitation movies of the era.

Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) has just become the first black police officer in the Colorado Springs police department. He is eager to make a mark, but finds himself assigned to the records room, locating files for his racist co-workers. After making his desire to work undercover known to his superiors, Ron is tasked with infiltrating a rally involving civil rights leader Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins), where he meets Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), the president of a black student union. Assigned to the intelligence division, Ron spots an advert in the paper for a KKK recruitment drive and, with his best white man voice, bags himself a meeting with Walter (Ryan Eggold), the president of the local chapter. His fellow officers are quick to point that not only did Ron give Walter his real name, he also happens to be black. Enter Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), the Jewish co-worker who takes the job of working his way into the ranks of the ever-suspicious Klan, while Ron does his part on the phone to try and land a conversation with Grand Wizard David Duke (Topher Grace).

BlacKkKlansman is certainly not without its flaws. Lee's desire to envelop Ron and Patrice's blossoming romance into the KKK's plan to carry out a terrorist attack leads to some glaring pacing issues, and an eagerness to hold up a mirror to the growing far-right attitudes of the Trump era can often be heavy-handed. Yet Lee's interesting style - mixing comedy with serious issues and often within the same scene - pulls you along for the ride, with the director showcasing a rarely-seen talent for suspense. Flip's assignment is fraught with problems, from the volatile and suspicious Klansman Felix (Jasper Paakkonen), to the fact that Ron's voice sounds oddly different on the phone to real life. Some of the supporting characters are perhaps a bit too cartoonish for the film's overall tone, the script from Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott, is incredibly sharp and witty without taking anything away from the seriousness of the underlying themes at play. Lee goes straight for the jugular, ending with shocking footage of the car attack at the 2017 Unite the Right rally to remind us of how little has changed, and how the threat never really went away. It isn't Lee's best work, but its one of his most vibrant and cinematic joints, and arguably his most ambitious.


Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, Jasper Pääkkönen, Ryan Eggold, Paul Walter Hauser, Corey Hawkins
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie