What to watch this week
True-life crime drama. With John David Washington, Adam Driver and Laura Harrier. Director: Spike Lee. 16DLPVB. This is the incredible true story of how a black man infiltrated and rapidly ascended the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the late ’70s.
Ron Stallworth (Washington) is the first black cop in Colorado Springs. Determined to prove himself, he successfully completes an undercover civil rights mission and is promoted to detective. For his first assignment Ron responds to an advert calling for new followers of the local KKK chapter.
Convincing as he is on the phone, he needs to meet the Klan members so recruits his Jewish colleague Flip Zimmerman (Driver from Star Wars) to be the white face behind his voice.
Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) has adapted Stallworth’s memoir, Black Klansman, to comment on the current state of President Donald Trump’s America. The film is in the same vein as Get Out (2017), so expect jarring and meticulous social commentary presented in the form of a dark comedy.
Though an unnecessary romance is shoehorned in, the strong cast and striking sepia scenes make this a mustsee. The film has a lot to say and, as with any Spike Lee “joint”, uses colourful language to get its point across.
By the story’s conclusion the message ringing out loudest is the more things change, the more they stay the same . . .