The Best of Enemies

Movie 🎥 Review: “The Best of Enemies”. Critics gave it a 51% the users an 75%. Rated: PG 13 with a running time of 2 hrs and 13 mins with an IMDb of 6.9/10. Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Babou Ceesay, Anne Heche, Wes Bentley, Bruce McGill, John Gallagher Jr., and Nick Searcy.

The true story of the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader. During the racially charged summer of 1971, Atwater and Ellis come together to co-chair a community summit on the desegregation of schools in Durham, N.C. The ensuing debate and battle soon lead to surprising revelations that change both of their lives forever.

In June 2015, it was announced that Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell would star in the true story based civil rights drama, an adaptation of Osha Gray Davidson's book The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South, Robin Bissell was attached to make his directorial debut from his own script. Filming began on May 22, 2017, in Georgia.[3] In July 2018, STX Entertainment acquired the film's domestic distribution rights. Producers on the film were Danny Strong, Fred Bernstein, Matt Berenson, Bissell, Dominique Telson, and Material Pictures' Tobey Maguire and Matthew Plouffe. The trailer was released on October 11, 2018.

There have been a series of movies lately on race relations here in the U.S. during the 1950s and 60s, among them the Oscar-winner *Green Book* and *BlackKKlansman*. I think this movie trumps them all. The acting is first-rate, the main characters are actually given the room to grow and change, rather than just remain two-dimensional stereotypes. The pacing was just right.

This is a very moving film with an abundance of reminders of the uncomfortable past. A solid supporting cast and fantastic set and costume design help create a town that feels utterly authentic to the time and place. It's a little graceless and heavy handed in its delivery at certain points but the final product is a genuine, relevant and touching film and in no way detracts from the very real emotional power of this movie.

I strongly recommend it. Wait for the end of the film when the real characters are given some screen time.