BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Starting with the message, I think this film is a perfect example of historical dramatization usable as a primary source on the period in which it was produced. Spike Lee, never one for subtlety, is very on the nose about calling out Trump, featuring all his favorite slogans and footage of the man himself at the very end. So not only is the movie thematically poignant, it is necessary as blatant white supremacy rears its ugly head in public.

The style is not obviously Spike Lee. By no means is it slow, but it doesn't have the kinetic forward energy that pushes along some of his earlier works. There are some tinges of blaxploitation, alluded to directly. There are experimental cuts and edits that are a little too film school for someone so experienced--the floating heads watching Stokeley Carmichael's speech are sort of strange, the titles over the Charlottesville footage look a little childish (or rushed? as if the titles were so insignificant he just used the default in the editing software). The allusions to Birth of a Nation are obvious, but the opening scene from Gone with the Wind followed by Alec Baldwin's un-polished monologue are unusual directorial choices. I love the use of music. The main theme sounds exactly like an undercover cop soundtrack stereotype. There are also some tracks of more rah-rah Saving Private Ryan-esque music used subversively. The 1970s dialogue and costumes are right on. If not for that, well, it could have been 2018.