BLACKKKLANSMAN (2018)

8/14/18 -  BlackkKlansman (2018) - 6+/7-/10

A terribly important and fun film that I thought was well made, but I had a hard time ever falling in love with. Spike’s joints tend to be real hit or miss with me, and BlackkKlansman definitely straddles that line, but the expressive power from the burning fire behind what is being presented was enough to click with me overall.

There is a constriction in content and style, with a brashness both in whimsy and ardent emotional abrasion (purposefully, of course), which felt more confining rather than defining for me. I felt listless and cut off by Lee’s style, when it wasn’t flipping my particular switches. So often the dialogue just felt...off. Stagnant. Stifled. Just lacking a fluidity, like people playing in an exploitation film rather than living in one as the characters. Some of the back and forth side-by-side(or rather the split screens), the superimposition of some images during other scenes and other kitchy little flourishes felt tacky and took me out of it, as I focused more on those touches and less on what the meat of the scene was. Some other may love some of those touches, but they just didn’t lively pop or resonate for me. The score also seemed wonky. So out of place, in tone, mood, and placement within the action. I got its 70’s vibe purpose, but it pointed too much to itself... I recognize so many of the techniques and skills on display, but they didn’t quite click with me as a vital living whole.

I will say that the integration of and twisted use of Gone with the Wind and Birth of A Nation are both brilliantly realized and chilling. I would say they are the highlight of the film and make it worth watching if just for them. Formatively and contextually, it strikes at the heart of this film and the psychology of our nation. Capped off with a poignant poeticism of Charlottesville, white supremacist marches and Trump speeches, that is all dishearteningly relevant and grotesque.

There is a dance between the stomach tightening disgust of hate, the banality of 70’s-esque mellowly written/acted procedural drama, and slightly zany humor. But where this film makes its mark is in its headlong examination and the torturous emotional reverberation it packs when dealing race relations. This is a powerful and provocative experience, shaking viewers to their core in confronting the insidious nature and its ever-long presence. Whether all of the intentions and paths work for you, it is an unfortunately all-too timely and relevant parable.