THE BEST OF ENEMIES is a timely drama starring Academy Award® nominee Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures)
and Academy Award® winner Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).
Based on a true story, THE BEST OF ENEMIES centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater (Henson), an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis (Rockwell), a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially-charged summer of 1971.
It’s an election year, and the city is now facing conflict on what happens next. The judge is focused on appeasing his fellow Klansman and white constituents and takes the suggestion of friend and colleague Wilbur Hobby (Ned Vaughn) to call in a successful black academic who has been doing great things in Raleigh, NC. Bill Riddick (Babou Ceesay) is called to organize a charrettes (a conflict-resolution meeting within the community) and calls upon Ann and C.P to co-chair the event. Over 10 days the two are supposed to come together and resolve the communities issues.
Most people are not familiar with the story of Ann Atwater, but I was familiar because I attended Shaw University (which was mentioned in the film) which is about an hour north of Durham. The story really develops due to the “blacks” school catching fire and residents questioning where will the children attend school? The “negras” can’t attend with the white children so what’s the next option?
Over the next few days we see the dynamics between the hateful C.P and Rough-house Annie go from a disdain of one another to a curiosity. Both have fears, pride, and love for their communities. There was a scene where Ann was face-to-face with the the Klan hood and she was frozen, angered, and fearful at the same time. Unbeknownst to her C.P saw this and stood quietly observing. Whereas Ann had information about one of C.P’s children and as she inquired about it, he snapped on her. This did not stop Ann from helping him when the time came. There were several moments in which the two had moments to observe the other, and it humanized them.The movie did have a few comedic portions, but I attribute this to the great acting of Henson and Rockwell. It also played into a few stereotypes that didn’t come off too cliche, it just worked for the movie. However the term “friendship” has been tossed around so much in association with the movie, which I feel is a bit misleading. Mutual respect would be more appropriate.
After watching the movie, I didn’t leave with a sense of Kumbaya, I left thinking this is another example of black people need the white man to validate us and fix our problems. The Best of Enemies was a decent watch, but I am just tired of this narrative.
On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 3.