"The Black Party" is also a strong contender for the upcoming 91st Academy Awards, and it carries the style of Spike Lee films that is both clever and disturbing, and often hilarious, both political and funny.
"Black Party" is based on a true story: In 1979, Ron Stolworth (John David Washington), an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully infiltrated the local Ku Klux Klan and became the head of the new local chapter — but a deeper fact than fiction, which seems a little too extreme by suggesting that current U.S. President Donald Trump is a white supremacist in the old model. However, if you look at it from another angle, then this movie tells a great story with charm, and it is even interesting.
It's not a film that offers great performances or beautiful dialogue, and Spike Lee provides the film with rough, budgeted set-ups, like the '70s layout and lighting. The comedy is entirely in the service of political commentary, and in a way, Ang Lee employs a counter-strategy of having all conceivable white racist remarks and swear words appear on screen and make the audience laugh.
Ron, the newly appointed black cop assigned by his white head, infiltrated Stockley Carmichael (aka Kwamedur) to gauge the fighting power of local blacks. Lee portrays this uplifting black power speech in its entirety, the first time he has included fictional elements in the film's comedic framework but a serious tribute to milestones in black history. Ron also met patrice (Laura Harrill), the organizer of the event, a man like Angela Davis, who later became lovers.
Although he was a novice, Ron persuaded the Justice Department to let him lead the investigation into the Ku Klux Klan, the group. Pretending to be white, he managed to get in touch with the Ku Klux Klan, gushing out racist jargon that sounded like music to his contacts. He quickly received invitations to meet others, and that was the problem. A white man, Ron Storworth, is fictionalized by another cop, Phillip (Adam Dreifer), and is given orders by Ron, a black man.
As Black Ron continued to make contact by phone, eventually including a comical conversation with David Duke (Toffer Grace), and White Ron's smooth entry into the Ku Klux Klan as a representative of the operation. There will be a lot of burlesque that follow, and the plot of the Ku Klux Klan to wage a racist war will be foiled, a comedy that relies heavily on cartoons by countrymen and White Ron's ability to outperform his opponents over evil racism. The best lines can't be surpassed.
Lee has insight into history in his racist comedies. A baptismal-like Tri-Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony ended with the gathered faithful enthusiastically chanting "white power," while the editing of a black lecture showed the audience the same energetic "black power." Lee sneaks a lot of contemporary political commentary into his movie lines. Blake Ron said, "The American people will never elect someone like David Duke as president." His white colleague replied, "It's naïve to say it out of the mouth of a black man."
"Black Party" ends with a series of false endings (though probably one the director hopes for), including a hopeful celebration of police camaraderie, as well as a contrast to the Ku Klux Klan rallies and cross-burning. The film ends with footage of current events, including the 2017 "White Lives Matter" rally at the University of Colorado, the tragedy in Charlottesville and Trump's subsequent speech, and the final tribute to Heather Hale. All of this proves that spike Lee's story isn't over yet.
Spike Lee is a political activist and "jive artist," so you won't be surprised that Gangster Noir isn't just a powerful film, it's also powerful in terms of propaganda. Maybe Lee told the audience how long it took and put it too thickly; Perhaps he fell into the socio-political vortex of the times. Who knows?