Category: The Best of Enemies

Sam Rockwell (KKK leader), Babou Ceesay (Charrette leader) and TaraJi P Henson (Civil rights leader) confront each other.

THE BEST OF ENEMIES

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

It is tempting to go see how superheroes are saving the world in “Endgame”, but in the film, “The Best of Enemies”, we are shown how real superheroes are saving the real world one choice at a time.

Sam Rockwell plays the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, C.P. Ellis, in Durham, North Carolina.

And, Taraji P. Henson plays a local African American civil rights activist, Ann Atwater, also from Durham, North Carolina in the 1970’s.

In my humble opinion, both Rockwell and Henson should receive Academy Award nominations for this film.

These are real people, who come to the conclusion, that hate no longer divides them, after they get to know each other while co-chairing a school desegregation charrette.

They somehow bond in the process and come to see that they have more in common than they realized.

Atwater and Ellis both had children that they cared about, both were struggling financially, both assumed leadership roles in their respective arenas, and they were both caring individuals.

In this film and in real life, Atwater decides to help Ellis, and vice versa.

He had four children, one of which was born deaf and blind. She hits an emotional cord in him, when she uses her influence to help that child.

She also respects his display of the KKK information, by protecting it from any harm.

When Ellis sees this, his stance against Atwater begins to soften.

While being the leader of the KKK, Ellis also started a youth group, which was just dropped, when no one else could fill his shoes.

Hate or love, these are the choices.

The choice to express love brings them both the right kind of recognition.

Ellis goes on to become a union organizer and Atwater surrenders her single mom status, then becomes a deacon at the Mount Calvary United Church of Christ.

Their willingness to be open to listening to each other, had a healing effect on both individuals, who remained friends to the very end.

In fact, Atwater did the eulogy at his 2005 funeral, which is not shown in this film.