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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 6 april 2019
Henson, Rockwell bring sensitivity to true-life tale

By JOCELYN NOVECK other sorry effort to make
Associated Press a feel-good film about the
If you didn’t know that history of race relations in
“The Best of Enemies” was the United States? Well, it
based on a true story, can’t help but feel good,
you’d likely find the prem- but the story actually hap-
ise preposterous, and for a pened: activist Ann Atwa-
movie, probably ill-advised: ter and C.P. Ellis, the Exalt-
A lowbrow Klan leader in ed Cyclops of a clan group
North Carolina and a black in Durham, formed an en-
single mom/community during partnership for more
activist are forced into dia- than three decades. Atwa-
logue and become lifelong ter even delivered the eu-
friends and allies. Really?? logy at Ellis’ funeral.
Wait, you’d think, is this an- “The Best of Enemies,” by

This image released by STXfilms shows Sam Rockwell in a scene from “The Best of Enemies.”
Associated Press
writer-director Robin Bis- problem-solving called a conduct the “charrette” —
sell, is the latest of a series “charrette” — ever heard basically, forced negotia-
of recent films to tackle the of it? — that was used to tion under deadline.
history of racism in Amer- resolve the thorny issue of The expert, Bill Riddick (Ba-
ica, including the Oscar- school integration in Dur- bou Ceesay), asks Atwater
winning but divisive “Green ham. More on that in a and Ellis to be co-chairs
Book” and the much, much minute. We begin with in- of the two-week process.
better “BlacKkKlansman” troductions, first to Atwa- At first they hate the idea.
by Spike Lee. While much ter (Henson, aided by lots Then they realize they’re
of Bissell’s film is poignantly of costume padding) and the best chance for their
rendered, especially the her relentless advocacy constituencies.
spirited lead performanc- for fair housing. Her efforts On the process goes,
es by Taraji P. Henson and bring her in front of a town punctuated by dirty, vote-
Sam Rockwell, it has its council run by reaction- suppressing tactics from
flaws and its omissions. ary white men who quietly the white side. A white
For example, we see much sympathize with Ellis and his woman who sympathizes
more of Ellis’ daily life, with cohorts (one member even with the black community,
family and friends, than we defiantly turns his swivel for example, gets a chilling
see of Atwater’s. Though chair around when Atwa- visit at home from two Klan
there’s an important sub- ter speaks.) As for Ellis, we guys and one baseball bat.
plot involving Ellis’ disabled meet him as he’s recruiting Ellis, though, is slowly chang-
child and the impact of youth for a Klan corps. He’s ing, and Rockwell does a
that challenge on him and devoted to his Klan bud- finely paced job here, one
his wife, Mary (a sensitive dies, and the film seems that will leave us surprised
Anne Heche), it seems less to try to show that for him, but not totally shocked at
than balanced; there’s just it isn’t just an odiously rac- his final action.
a lot more detail about ist undertaking but also The film ends, not surprising-
Ellis than about Atwater, a means of belonging to ly, with an inspiring scene
or about Durham’s black something, for the first time that may leave you misty-
community at large. in his life. The plot really eyed. Here again, though,
That’s probably because gets going when a frighten- there seems a bit of a
the film needs to find a way ing fire guts the school at- missed opportunity. What
to lay the groundwork for tended by Durham’s black happened to Ellis after his
how a man like Ellis came pupils (nearly two decades break with the Klan? Do
to be in the Klan, and then after Brown vs. Board of Ed- some reading and you’ll
for the most stunning part ucation, integration hasn’t see he was shunned by
of the story: his seemingly hit Durham). his former associates and
sudden transformation. Atwater immediately ar- his life threatened. It might
But the film isn’t only about gues that black students be have been interesting —
that transformation. It’s also integrated into the white and grounding — to see
a somewhat fascinating school. The NAACP files something about how life
deep dive into an arcane suit, and the judge turns to unfolded for both charac-
process of community an expert from Raleigh to ters in ensuing years.q