The comedy of hatred

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2019)

BlackkKlansman
Directed by Spike Lee and written by Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel,David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott

I usually like to watch Best Picture Oscars before the ceremony. I'm lagging behind this year for sure. I still have to see A Star is Born, Roma and The Favourite. But I did see Spike Lee's film BlackkKlansman. After seeing it, I'm posed with the question how the hell did Green Book win? This is a much better, more thought provoking movie. Now I know when you say a Spike Lee film or as he calls it a joint you get a mental picture in your mind immediately. This follows that somewhat. This is more in line with Inside Man or 25th Hour while still retaining the flavor of movies like Do The Right Thing and Clockers.
It sticks you in those uncomfortable places while still maintaining the silliness of the beliefs. There is an early scene where Ron is forced to go undercover at a Stokely Carmichael speech. It sits with the speech. It stays with the faces of the people in the audience. You soak it in. It's important to soak in the positives aspects of black culture before you're thrust into the den of the Ku Klux Klan.
Everything seems normal from the outside. One member's wife bakes them food for their meeting. There is no real talk of violence at first. Everything just seems tranquil at first. But the hatred is there even when clothed by banality. The hatred is everywhere. Spike Lee does help you let your guard down with the comedy. The history is always there. The hatred is always there. It's the main thing that that gut punch of an ending leaves you with.
I know it's not the uplifting message that Green Book presents. It might be why it lost out at the Oscars. It has a political edge to it but really the message exists in the comedy and the performances. It's in the eyes. Everyone's secret is in those eyes for sure.
I think that Spike Lee was able to impart the message and lessons that he wanted us to learn. It's there in the margins of the entertainment we watch. It's there in the comedy we make of history's villains. They need to be clowns but they also don't need to be forgotten or underestimated. I give this movie a B.