Blackkklansman (2018)

In the early 1970s, the first black police officer (John David Washington) on the Colorado Springs police force contacts the Ku Klux Klan on the phone. Pretending to be white, he gets an invitation to join the Klan. To this end, a white police officer (Adam Driver) takes over the black police officer's identity in order to infiltrate the Klan. Based on the autobiographical book by Ron Stallworth and directed by Spike Lee. The core of the film is, amazingly, factual. Lee has taken dramatic license with some facts. For example, Driver's character in real life was not Jewish and the female black activist (wonderfully played by Laura Harrier) that Washington falls in love with is a fabrication. But understandably, Lee adds these elements to the story to make points and tie in with contemporary America. This is a powerful film and Lee doesn't hesitate to to take justified jabs at Trump's America. I could have done without the absurd Alec Baldwin prologue and there's an awful scene of the Klan watching the 1915 BIRTH OF A NATION and guffawing and cheering on the Klan while in real life, they would have been bored stiff by a 60 year old B&W silent movie. Still, I can see why Lee put such a scene in because it does contrast beautifully and horrifyingly with a scene with Harry Belafonte chilling description of 1916 killing of Jesse Washington.  The excellent underscore is by the great Terence Blanchard. With Topher Grace, Corey Hawkins and Jasper Paakkonen.