Director Lee packs some serious punch in this politico-crime thriller, based on the true story of a black cop undercover...in the Klu Klux Klan
WHAT feels like a comeback is actually the latest in a consistent line of films from Spike Lee – it’s just that since the shambolic 2013 remake of Oldboy, we haven’t really been paying attention.
This politico-crime thriller is based on the memoirs of Ron Stallworth, a retired police officer who, in 1979, joined the Ku Klux Klan in an undercover operation.
Oh, and he was also the first black officer Colorado Springs had ever had.
Problematic? Sure. Spike back on his A-game? Hell yes.
We begin with a shot from Gone With The Wind — thousands of dead soldiers in a railway station, a Confederate flag flapping in the wind.
This is projected over the ranting form of Alec Baldwin as Dr Kennebrew Beauregard who is spilling some of the most racist bile you have ever heard.
Don’t expect an easy ride here folks. It’s urgent, barbed, funny and absolutely on point, showing America’s continued complicated relationship with that Deep South flag and the white people that continue to dominate the conversation.
Stripped of any deeper meaning, BK is a funny, tense police procedural drama.
An advert in the local paper seeks KKK recruits. Ron (played brilliantly by John David Washington) calls the number and winds up being invited to a meeting.
Being black is clearly a problem here, so his colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver once again flexes his underused humerus) is drafted in for face to faces.
The ruse proves to be effective, Ron gets asked to run for president of the local chapter by KKK head David Duke (played to perfection by Topher Grace).
Along the way, a plot for an act of extreme violence is uncovered and someone’s hand needs to be forced, jeopardising everything.
Even without Lee’s politick, which is the film’s pulse, this is a gripping drama. The juxtaposition between the Klan’s meetings and a student union gathering is absolutely glorious to watch. Stylistically it oozes cool and the soundtrack is out of this world.
You haven’t lived until you watch people dance to Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose’s Too Late To Turn Back Now. Tarantino will be biting his fist.
The educational aspects come unapologetically and fiercely.
One notably sobering moment arrives in the form of a student union lecture by a survivor of the Klan’s brutality.
The kangaroo-court conviction and subsequent execution of a young man named Jesse comes at just the right time, yanking the comedy back by its throat and letting Lee inject some incredible storytelling, delivered with resigned venom.
It’s deeply powerful stuff. The tale is told by a Mr Turner (Harry Belafonte) who as a young man in 1916, witnessed the lynching of a friend.
This is Lee’s poison pen letter to the injustices of his country, not simply regarding black people but also the anti-Semitic struggle millions have faced.
Adam Driver’s character finds himself in equally hot water when he is suspected of being a Jew and is forced into a sickening diatribe regarding the holocaust.
Trump gets slammed throughout. Indeed, the film ends with a visual essay on the 2017 Virginia riots — the mantra of “White Lives Matter” never sounding so damned ridiculous.
You could hear a pin drop as the credits rolled. Though very well made, this is a tough watch. Many will struggle with the shocking displays of racism and brutality. There was nervous laughter throughout the viewing I attended.
But much like the shocking comedy of Blue Jam or even Sacha Baron Cohen, it is an incredulous escape of emotion rather than a chuckle in solidarity.
The Klan’s tactics and beliefs are deeply unsettling — and that’s while watching them in the comfort of a British cinema.
A layered, complex and extremely good film.
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Alec Baldwin
15
Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: 24/08/2018
