Black or White (FILM REVIEW)
Black or White
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Grandparents Square-Off over Biracial Child in Contentious Courtroom Drama
When Elliot Anderson’s (Kevin Costner) wife Carol (Jennifer Ehle) perishes
in a tragic car accident, he suddenly finds himself facing the prospect of
raising his 7 year-old granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell) alone. After
all, the couple had originally assumed custody from the moment their own
daughter died giving birth to the little girl, since the baby’s drug-addicted father
(Andre Holland) was behind bars and totally unfit to be a parent.
Today, however, Elliot does have a
drinking problem which proceeds to escalate out of control in the wake of his
spouse’s untimely demise. And this state of affairs comes to the attention of
Eloise’s fraternal grandmother, Rowena “Wee-Wee” Davis (Octavia Spencer), who
soon resurfaces for the first time in years.
She approaches Elliot about
setting up visitation, in spite of her son’s substance abuse problems, since Eloise
has a lot of other relatives on her father’s side of the family eager to see
her. But the wealthy, white lawyer balks at the very suggestion, presumably because
they’re black and from the ‘hood, and he’s thus far managed to shield his
relatively-privileged granddaughter from the ghetto and its host of woes.
Of course, Wee-Wee doesn’t take
the rebuff sitting down, but rather prevails upon her attorney brother,
Jeremiah (Anthony Mackie), to file suit. Next thing you know, the parties are
slinging mud at one another in an ugly custody battle where Reggie is accused
of being a crack head with a criminal record and Elliot is labeled a racist and
an alcoholic. Responsibility for dispensing justice blindly falls to Judge
Margaret Cummings (Paula Newsome), who might very well be a bit biased in favor
of plaintiff Rowena, given that she’s also African-American and female.
All roads inexorably lead to a big
courtroom showdown in Black or White, a cross-cultural melodrama written and
directed by Mike Binder (Reign over Me). Ostensibly “inspired by true events,”
the picture pits a couple of worthy adversaries against each other in Elliot
and Wee-Wee, as capably played by Oscar-winners Kevin Costner (for Dances with
Wolves) and Octavia Spencer (for The Help).
Any lawyer worth his or her salt
knows that you never ask a question on cross-examination that you don’t already
know the answer to. Nonetheless, Jeremiah violates that cardinal rule by asking
Elliot, “Do you dislike all black people?” This affords the just-disgraced
granddad an opportunity to rehabilitate his tarnished image courtesy of a scintillating,
self-serving soliloquy reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s “You can’t handle the
truth!” monologue in A Few Good Men.
If only the rest of this racially-tinged baby-daddy drama had matched
that climactic moment in terms of intensity. Still, the film is worth the
investment for veteran Costner’s vintage performance and for the way in which the
timely script dares to tackle some tough social questions in refreshingly-realistic,
if perhaps politically-incorrect fashion.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated PG-13 for
profanity, fighting, ethnic slurs, and mature themes involving drugs and
alcohol
Running time: 121 minutes
Distributor: Relativity
Media
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