Spike Lee has made an incredible film which MUST be seen.

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2018)

My first impression of "BlacKkKlansman" was my reaction to seeing its name listed among the films selected to premiere in competition at the Cannes film festival. I remember thinking, "Did the filmmakers really need to put the "k" between the two words? Isn't the "K" in "Klansman" enough?"
The answer to the first is yes; the answer to the second is no. This is a film which makes no attempt to explain its behaviour, which is original and relentless. The script wastes no time in packing in as many racist slurs as it possibly can, with no careful exposition clarifying that the people saying the words are bad. It goes without saying - the Klansmen are utterly detestable and the actors playing them seem in competition to be the most unpleasant. It says a lot about the careful, purposeful direction of Mr. Lee that the greatest merit the Klan characters have is that they aren't quite as socially unacceptable as Jasper Pääkkönen's Felix. Certainly Mr. Lee wishes to show that the well-spoken David Duke (Topher Grace) is deluded in believing that he is any better, by amping up the classical expressionism of the camera in Duke's scenes.
Speaking of the camera, it always seems to be in the right place. It works as an onlooker, never quite embracing a wholly "modern" style. Much has already been written about the "creamy" cinematography, designed to emulate the look of 70s exploitation cinema. This is a success, and the film's atmosphere bleeds through the screen similarly to "Fargo" Season 2 and Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice".
The soundtrack, by Terence Blanchard, whose fantastic work in Mr. Lee's "25th Hour" should not soon be forgotten, is in a league of its own, fading out through most of the dialogue and popping up in force to punctuate the previous scene and lead into the next. I'm a fan of this style: it allows for a much more energetic soundtrack. Certainly parallels must be drawn between the lone guitar and the character of Ron Stallworth, as played by John David Washington.

Mr. Washington's performance, as well as Adam Driver's, will not be acclaimed enough, as "BlacKkKlansman" is not the type of film that allows for its performers to be the stars. Clearly Mr. Lee's focus is on the story (a compelling one, producer Jordan Peele has said that he successfully it to Mr. Lee in a mere six words) and the parallels found between the story and the world of today. That is, in part, what makes this such an interesting film. Like Mr. Peele's "Get Out", the film functions on the surface as an entertainment piece - a buddy-cop story with an ironic premise. That it's based on a true story elevates it to incredible. That said, this film does not have the subtlety of "Get Out" - not that it has to; that film would've been a mess if it had been too direct. In "BlacKkKlansman", we can appreciate that this is an attack on anybody that could dare to have a mindset ranging from Felix's to Duke's. It is a successful one. The film is profoundly moving and strongly independent. That's why the title has the "k". This is a Spike Lee joint.