Review of The Best of Enemies (2019) by Healingtoolbox — 22 Apr 2019

If you liked Green Book (2018) and Selma (2014) here's another story of character and hope with AAA casting, script and production values. I'll address what critics disliked:

- "Not enuf backstory on the blacks." The script is not primarily about blacks or black lives. It's about the character arc of Klansman who become an AFL-CIO organizer after this experience. One memorable, searing speech about the lives of black children outside of school is one of few glimpses here. The direction of detail and nuance is primarily how Black Lives Matter is SHOWN in this film not TOLD. I lived thru this period. It's spot on. - "The script is thin." Then perhaps AAA filmmaking does not hold your attention much. It's a movie about small things having out-size consequences, the small things which make us human to each other. Were you expecting super heroes?

- "The real story was changed." This was pretty obvious in the vote scene climax. However the re-arranging of actual events supports the main arc of the main character and supports the dramatic payoff of this scene and the scene to follow. That's what writers can do.

See it if you have an interest in better, improved human relations anywhere.