5/10

The interesting thing about Mike Binder’s newest film, is how little it has to do with it’s racially motivated title and setup. After seeing the trailer for this movie, i thought it was an appropriate time for such a commentary on racism in modern day America. What we’re left with is instead a ploy to get people into the seats. “Black or White” is the story of a grandfather (Kevin Costner) who is suddenly left to care for his beloved African American granddaughter. When her paternal grandmother (Octavia Spencer) seeks custody with the help of her lawyer brother (Anthony Mackie), the little girl is torn between two families who love her deeply. With the best intentions at heart, both families fight for what they feel is right and are soon forced to confront their true feelings about race, forgiveness, and understanding. The script simply downplays the racial tensions, or they just don’t exist. This film (for me) felt like more about Costner’s alcholism, and his lack of dealing with the death of his wife, seen in the film’s opening minutes. This movie should’ve been more about social commentary on how both sides view the hateful issue, but as it stands, the movie tiptoes around content more serious than the tone of the movie. There are some good laughs in the movie, and the performances lift a flawed script to as high as it could go. Costner is playing his deepest role since 1999’s “For Love of The Game”. In Elliot Anderson, we see that speculation is everything when it comes to the reasons he has nothing to do with his granddaughter’s other side of the family. However, with each passing scene, we learn more about his motivations, and it’s in these reveals that we understand where the guy is coming from. Spencer could still make a role feel important even if this script does absolutely nothing to make her look good, or support an argument for her side against Costner. It’s like the movie forgot to add reasons why we as an audience would believe that this little girl would be better with the grandmother and her family. The banter between Costner and Spencer is when the movie shines the most, and i would’ve liked a little more of that. I was close to giving this movie a 6/10, but the film’s final ten minutes feel so uninspired and unbelievable that it left a bad taste in my mouth leaving the theater. The verdict of the court case isn’t as important as the scene before it involving Costner and the little girl’s father. It’s like they took a film about family and how important it is, and turned it completely upside down into a suspenseful thriller. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s so hard to believe that any of these characters can remain civil after the events of that scene. Overall, i enjoyed “Black or White”, but i feel no need to ever see it again. I got everything that i’m ever going to learn from the film, and i think the film is a little too long for me to ever put that much into it again. The movie’s trailer and title suggest that decisions like the one the little girl faces in this movie are very complicated, but the movie has a tidy way of closing every storyline by third act. I think it’s a good film to see at a local dollar theater, but i don’t think anything is being missed by letting this one fade into obscurity in three weeks. For a film about racial tensions with a splash of humor, check out “Dear White People”. It had more bravery for the tense subject it was relating to it’s audience.