Flick Chick here once again in the pursuit of truth, justice and keeping you from spending your hard earned money on movies that don’t make the grade! Over the weekend grabbed my hat and coat and headed to the Bangor Mall Cinemas to see ‘Black or White.’

This movie runs just 2 hours and is a drama. The film is PG-13 for strong language, thematic material involving drug use and drinking, and for a fight. The film stars Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Gillian Jacobs, Anthony Mackie

Summary:

This story is loosely based on the real life experiences of director and screen writer Mike Binder. When Binder’s wife’s sister died he and his wife helped raise their bi-racial nephew in coordination with the child’s black family. Binder says it was like two different worlds trying to work together and he’d always thought it would make a good story. In the movie version Kevin Costner play a grandfather who has been raising his half black - half white granddaughter since she was a baby alongside his wife. When his wife is killed suddenly his ability to raise the little girl properly is challenged by her paternal grandmother played by Octavia Spencer. Both parties claiming to have the best interest of the child at heart but undeniably the fight is somewhat racially fueled.

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised by this film.  I really expected it to be very predictable but I think because the writer was drawing on so much personal experience it played out very freshly. Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner both portrayed their characters flawlessly. Some of the humor was a little forced at first but improved as it went along. The judge in the custody hearing was priceless and Anthony Mackie’s character was exceptional at making you feel both sides of discrimination. Overall the bright spots outweighed the lags so on a scale of 1-10, I’m giving ‘Black or White’ a 7.

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