REVIEW: BlacKkKlansman tells the strange true story of a black cop who got inside the Ku Klux Klan

A POWDER keg of restless energy, BlacKkKlansman detonates a series of controlled explosions across its generous running time. And thankfully, a master director like Spike Lee knows exactly when the fuse should be lit.

A POWDER keg of restless energy, BlacKkKlansman may not end with a bang, but it never settles for the faintest of whimpers.

If anything, this vibrant, fascinating, provocative and slyly funny movie detonates a series of controlled explosions across its generous running time.

Thankfully, a master director like Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, The 25th Hour) knows exactly when the fuse should be lit.

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A gripping true story is almost too bizarre to be taken seriously, if not for the unsettling fact it concerns the dreaded US racist group the Ku Klux Klan.

Newcomer John David Washington (son of Denzel) stars as Ron Stallworth, an African-American police detective who brought down a powerful chapter of the KKK in the 1970s by infiltrating the notorious organisation from within.

John David Washington as Ron Stallworth in a scene from film BlacKkKlansman

While Stallworth works the phones and climbs the chain of command until he gets inside the head of clinical KKK strategist David Duke (Topher Grace), a Jewish colleague (Adam Driver) reluctantly enters the Klan’s HQ as Stallworth’s white alter ego.

The era in which BlacKkKlansman takes place is crucial on a number of fronts. As the idealism of the 60s gradually gave way to the cynicism that would take hold of the 70s, the Black Power movement and the KKK changed radically in shape.

Laura Harrier as Patrice and John David Washington as Ron Stallworth in a scene from film BlacKkKlansman

Lee’s movie cleverly and chillingly points out that while Black Power ultimately short-circuited itself by frightening the American people, the KKK only got stronger by making itself look presentable to the general public.

Though never a mainstream political force per se, the KKK forged a legacy that has since been picked up by the many racist alt-right groups active in the US today.

Topher Grace as David Duke in a scene from film BlacKkKlansman

Conversely, the failure of Black Power to maintain a united front left a vacuum that has never been filled by any meaningful form of resistance since. BlacKkKlansman proves it is just as tough being an African-American now as it was back in the days depicted here.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

BLACKKKLANSMAN (MA15+)

Rating: Four stars (4 out of 5)

Director: Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing)

Starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace.

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Originally published as REVIEW: BlacKkKlansman tells the strange true story of a black cop who got inside the Ku Klux Klan