Blackkklansman

[Etino]

Has anyone seen this?
Eufff it’s gruelling. But more because of the subject matter rather than the tone I think. It could have been a comedy, and I feel so trivial saying so.
I’d love to hear what other people think.

I'd quite like to see it. It is based on a true story which is what made it more interesting for me. I think that juxtaposition between terrifying racism and silly normality is all part of it. I read a bit of the book where he talked about the first phone contact where they had a good racist rant then went over the subs and informed him he had to buy his own robe and hood.

Yes, that’s in the film, but the ‘in person’ klansman, Adam Driver. The original black cop, who set it up is Denzel Washington’s son- he’s excellent. Really still.

I've seen trailers for this and I'm hoping to see it quite soon

I saw it yesterday! It's really good but pretty tough going. Many references to Trumps America. Made me want to magic away all the hate in history so important but also depressing viewing.

It’s really tough, isn’t it? DD and I waited until the cinema emptied as we were both sobbing and just felt so crap and #whitegirlstears

Maybe I am hardhearted but I didn't think it WAS gruelling. The last ten minutes were pretty intense (as was the lynching story) but I think they were definitely needed to balance out some of the light-heartedness. Of course, the subject matter is gruelling but I wouldn't want to put anyone off going to see it as it was also very watchable.

@Kewqueue you’re right! The main plot was funny, it was the context and editing- the newsreels and contemporary Trump stuff.

Right - I think when I first heard about it, I asked if it were a comedy.

I thought it was a great subject, and it worked very well - but it was all story. I mean, the story propelled the movie, but there was nothing particularly impressive about the casting, the acting, the dialogue, or anything else.

kewqueue I agree. We found it very funny while not belittling the subject matter. The ending was rightly heavy. We loved some of the filming techniques, e.g. showing the faces during the black students' meeting at the beginning. The music was good. 15 year old DD wants to see it again

@Davros “Rightly heavy” ✅

I liked it very much. Just a few false notes; a few of the Klannsmen overly ( unnecessarily) charicatured, the juxtaposition of the black power meeting and the Klan meeting was a bit clunky too. It was immensely powerful though, both leads were stunning. The 70's vibe was exceptionally well captured. Go see it.

Would it be suitable for a 14 year old boy? I've seen clips and interviews and would like to take DS to see it.

It's rated as a 15 so it might be difficult to get him in? There isn't much gore but it's ( obviously ) very threatening in tone despite being funny in parts. There's a verbal description of an horrific racist murder which stayed with me for days...

He's pretty tall and hairy (massive spurt over the summer). Hmmmmm I read The Underground Railway about a year ago and there's a description of what happened to a runaway slave and it still makes my stomach lurch.

If he's the sensitive sort then this story could really upset him. The overarching message is so important though, particularly given the current POTUS. It's a very timely film.

He loathes Donald Trump and almost took a dive off a ferry recently when he saw a gaggle of blokes with MAGA caps on the dock...

I think it's a great film for sensible teenagers but it is a 15. You might get asked for ID but probably not

My initial thoughts on watching this were, yep not bad. Now having had a bit more time to process it I have a less favourable view. Some of the cinematography was very good, particularly during the speeches. But the negatives for me were the love interest of the main character - she could not act. The rather heavy handed comparisons to Trump "making America great", used too much and very obvious, a more subtle approach would be more effective, felt like I was being treated as an idiot that needed the point hammered home to me. I didn't like the switch from very serious to comedy and back again, I couldn't laugh at the bits that were supposed to be funny as the whole subject of the film was quite grim.

I enjoyed it but I spent most of the film in excruciating agony in case the kkk discovered the Jewish cops real identity and tortured him.

I just saw it. I don’t get why, when they wanted to check if Adam Driver was Jewish, they wanted to see his dick? Aren’t most American men circumcised, and a higher proportion of them back in the 70s? Whether Jew, Muslim, or Christian?

Leather, they were pretty dumb in that KKK chapter, I think they must have thought circumcision = Jew.

On further reflection I think the film, Detroit, whilst not about the KKK, portrayed the racial violence in America more successfully.

Gonna go against the grain here ive seen a lot of films recently and felt it was the worst. There was some light heartedness i liked, i liked the powerful speeches but felt it really dragged. Was also a bit bewildered that after the film and real footage of last year including BLM they chose a single white woman to essentially dedicate itbto

Frustrated, she was the only one of the drivers victims who died. I think the message was white supremacists don't care who they kill.

"Was also a bit bewildered that after the film and real footage of last year including BLM they chose a single white woman to essentially dedicate itbto"

Because Charlottesville was the clearest manifestation of all the divisive KKK seeds being sown by David Duke in the movie's timeline. And David Duke was at Charlottesville, praising president Trump. So why wouldn't the only person to die at Charlottesville be the film's dedication?

I saw this film today and thought it was brilliant! I found parts of it very funny but that didn't detract from the serious subject matter. A lot of serious issues that are particularly relevant now with Trump in the White House. Great acting too. One of the best films of the year IMO