5/5 Stars

“BlacKkKlansman” is one of the best films of all time. This film was a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving viewers in tears from both laughing and crying. Lovers of film, history and politics, will be on the edge of their seats the whole time. It was one of those films that when it ended left viewers thinking, “Was that all?” despite the runtime being 2 hours and 15 minutes. Simply based on the cast, the writers and the director, audiences can tell the movie is going to blow them away.

John David Washington (“Ballers”) plays the first black cop at the local Colorado Police Department, Ron Stallworth. He sees an ad in the paper about joining the Klu Klux Klan and, despite being shoved to desk work, decides to call. The conversation he had on the phone was absolutely hilarious but also difficult to watch. He used a lot of words not fit to publish in a newspaper.

Upon entering the film, some may have worried that Washington was cast in the role simply because his father, Denzel Washington (“The Equalizer 2”), is such an amazing actor. Moments into the film, they realized this was a mistake. John David Washington had virtually no moments of weak acting, bringing humor to a film where there did not have to be and causing discomfort when appropriate.

Adam Driver (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) plays another cop, Philip “Flip” Zimmerman, who would be the Ron Stallworth the KKK members meet in person. His acting, as always, is superb. Toward the start of the film, he seems primarily disinterested in helping for any other reason than it is his job. However, in one of the best scenes in cinematic history, Stallworth and Zimmerman have a very emotional conversation about what it means to be a minority (with Stallworth being black and Zimmerman being Jewish), whether visible or not.

Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier, “Spider-Man: Homecoming”) was stunning in this film. She was the perfect image of feminism, by standing up for herself and others, being comfortable in who she was and not forgiving the leading man just for convenience of plot. Her dialogue was so magnificently performed and written that it had viewers nodding in agreement in their seats.

Shaun Perkins (“The Week Of”) was the key hair stylist for the film. He made the brilliant decision to make Patrice and Ron both have afros. Of course, it fits the time period, but there are too many films where black actors and actresses need to make their hair look more “conventionally” beautiful, meaning long, straight and shiny. Praising something that is historically accurate and is not that impressive should not be something to bring up, but unfortunately, natural black hair is not too common in the film industry.

What makes this film even more incredible is that most of it actually happened. Of course, there were some embellishments for drama, but for the most part, all of the film is historically accurate. There was a black man named Ron Stallworth who called the KKK, met David Duke and tried to take them down from the inside. This film is topical due to the current relationship between the police and the people of color that reside in our nation. This movie is a must-watch, both for the education and the entertainment factors.

Image from Focus Features via YouTube.com