Director: Tate Taylor
Ok, so let's get this out of the way. No-one thinks racism is good and definitely NOT boring. But MAN was this film about racism BORING. This film has Oscar bait written all over it. It stars walking quirkathon Emma Stone, it's stylish like Mad Men and it's about bloody RACISM. But it's also half an hour too long with a bloated script, with a really unsatisfying ending. I've tried to sum it up in the banner image, although the film drops the REALLY unsubtle "long road to travel" all over the end credits, there is a certain sense that Eugenia Phelan (Stone) has a good handle on how to cure racism. It just doesn't feel authentic. The film is framed against the civil rights movement, and does have some really jarring sequences for a modern audience, but at the end of the day, I remain unconvinced. To give the film it's due, there are some moving and funny moments, but they can't carry the rest of the film. The film seems to be trying to hard to be loyal to the novel, and forgets to be cinematic. There is a whole love-interest-plotline that could easily have been chopped with no impact on the story.
Best Bit: The scene where awesomely alliterative big baddie Hilly Holbrook eats a slice of poo pie. Predictable but it got a laugh.
Worst Bit: The overblown AND THE ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER ending.
Say This: It went on a bit, but I suppose it got the job done. Noone is going to come out thinking that racism is ok. Except a racist, who wouldn't go and see it anyway.
Don't Say: I want more popcorn, excuse me? Usher? *Sigh* You just can't get the staff.
