At a time when every controversial issue seems to get boiled down to a false choice of good versus evil, it is rare to see someone – anyone – take the effort to show the true complexity of the human condition. “Best of Enemies” (2019) goes back nearly 50 years to tell the story of school desegregation in Durham, N.C., through the eyes of a black community activist (Taraji P. Henson) and a Klan chief (Sam Rockwell). There’s no question they are adversaries, but the activist is not portrayed as a saintly martyr and the Klansman is humanized by his personal struggles.
Archives for posts with tag: Taraji P. Henson
Honky male actors have been making mediocre action movies for years, so I see it as a sign of gender equality that Taraji P. Henson made the incredibly mediocre “Proud Mary” (2018). It’s got two hallmarks of mediocre action cinema: Good guys with 100 percent handgun accuracy versus bad guys with 2 percent accuracy, and the Law of Unlimited Bullets. The slapped-together plot has her assassin character trying to flee a crime family, save an orphan and survive a mob war she semi-accidentally started. The title hinted that Henson might try a spin on 1970s blaxploitation films. Disposability won out.
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