That same night after the film was over, Lee received a six-minute standing ovation, according to Variety.
Focus Features released an official trailer for the BlacKkKlansman, revealing a dramatic film spiced with a little comedy, similar to Peele’s Get Out.
The official trailer does a fair job at presenting the premise but truly isn’t a trailer that relies on exciting energy to attract viewers. One may only need to know this premise to be intrigued by this film but this footage can provide confidence that this true story will be well-adapted.
The trailer presents the premise but doesn’t reveal too much of the plot. Besides the addition of Peele as a producer, the most exciting aspect of Black Klansman is its premise: in the 1970s, a Black man was able to infiltrate the KKK, a group of White supremacists that have plagued this country since the end of the Civil War.
The trailer does an interesting and hilarious job at showing how this infiltration begins. The rookie Black cop (John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington) sees a KKK advertising in the newspaper which from a modern perspective can be very shocking. Newspapers allowed racists to advertise their causes. This is America.
Washington contacts the KKK and is able to convince them that he is a White man due to his voice. Obviously, Washington can’t meet them in person, so a White detective (Adam Driver) is used to go undercover. The plot seems to be the duo working together to takedown the KKK group in their local area.
The trailer does imply this won’t be easy. Washington considers this infiltration a crusade. It’s personal for him while Driver’s character who is a Jew (a group also hated by the KKK) only sees this mission as a job. The two will have to overcome their differences.
The best line from the trailer is “With the right White man, we can do anything.” This line is comedic but does have social overtones that highlight racial inequality. BlacKkKlansman¸ based off a trailer seems to be a fun ride that will respect its source material.
BlacKkKlansman opens in theatres August 10th, the one-year anniversary of the 2017 Charlottesville riots that began due to a White Supremacist rally and had a counter-protester murdered. This movie will probably remind us that much hasn’t changed and will do a phenomenal job at presenting this message.
People don’t stand up for six minutes for something that’s just ok.
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