Exposing America's Ugly Underbelly

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2017)

Oof, finally got around to viewing this Oscar-nominated Best Picture from 1988 and what a tough watch. This sweaty tale of the FBI taking on the Ku Klux Klan in Civil Rights-era Mississippi has taken on renewed relevance in today's world, given the ugly, hateful faction of Americans who our current President has encouraged to crawl out from beneath their slimy rocks. This is no liberal feel-good version of the fight against racism and bigotry, in which a call for mutual understanding wins the day. No, in this film, the only way to beat ugliness is to be yet uglier. There was a time when this movie would have left a bad taste in my mouth, but in the light of recent current events, I received a tremendous amount of cathartic satisfaction in watching Gene Hackman beat up a bunch of worthless white trash. Oh if it were only that easy.
Cinematographer Peter Biziou won an Oscar for his work on this film, which was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Alan Parker), Best Actor (Hackman), Best Supporting Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.
Grade: A