TW: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS BRIEF GRAPHIC FOOTAGE FROM REAL RIOTS AND THE FILM CONTAINS HEAVY USAGE OF RACIAL EPITHETS. VIEWERS DISCRETION ADVISED.
Common Sense Media Age: 15+ Violence 3/5 Language 4/5 Sex 1/5
My Age Recommendation: 15+ (Due to pervasive strong language throughout including frequent racial/homophobic slurs, some sexual dialogue, and brief graphic footage).
This movie has been on my list for a while, but once I saw it was leaving Netflix early this year, I knew I had to watch it before it went away, and this was a really good movie. The story is set in the 70s about a black cop named Ron Stallworth who infiltrates the KKK by impersonating a white supremacist on the phone. Ron uses a Jewish officer to meet the KKK in person, and he knows he has to be really careful and make sure his identity stays secret as he learns more about their plans. I have to say this movie was amazing and it was really eye-opening. The events of Ron Stallworth are based heavily on a real black cop who infiltrated the KKK, and pictures are shown sometimes as 'evidence' in the movie that turn out to be real, and that was really eye-opening to see. The story itself was paced well, and the characters were really good and well casted too. The chemistry between the KKK members and the Black Activist members were really good, and I am sure a few of the activist members were playing themselves. The dialogue was also really strong, and since this movie is dialogue driven, I was surprised to see original dialogue without cliches (like I have seen in the past couple movies I've watched recently) that really helped the story. The choice to show real footage of KKK members from 2015 was something I've never seen before, but it was shocking and definitely had its effect. Overall, this movie was amazing and I recommend everyone watch it as it will be an eye-opening experience!