Henson and Rockwell Are The Best of Enemies

By Darlene Donloe

*Best of Enemies, opening today (April 5) in theaters nationwide, is based on a remarkable true story about the relationship between civil rights activist Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson) and C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell), the Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear the story was based somewhere in the Stone Age.

Instead, it takes place in 1971 Durham, North Carolina!! 1971!!   

Blacks and whites are at odds with each other. The Klan and some other less than friendly whites use the “N” word liberally.

The subject matter of the film is the volatile issue of school integration.  When the “black school” suffers a fire and smoke damage, the question becomes what to do with the black students. The natural solution would be for the black students to simply be bussed to the same school as the white students. Hold your horses!  The white people in the community have a huge problem with that. They don’t want to live next to blacks, eat next to blacks, date blacks, etc. So why in the world would they go to school with blacks? Who knew that the 1954 ruling Brown vs. The Board of Education somehow managed to miss the town of Durham?

Ann Atwater is a fireball. She is relentless when it comes to fighting for justice for blacks, especially the underserved. C.P., who owns a gas station, is a diehard KKK member who joined because he wanted to belong to something. He is hellbent on stopping blacks and whites from integrating.

When the all-white male city council and the citizens of Durham are unable to come to an amicable decision, a mediator named Bill Riddick (Babou Ceesay) is brought in to conduct a charette. Everyone has to come together so they can solve the problem.  Riddick also mandates that everyone get to know someone from a different race – but they can’t talk about the issue. They have to really try to get to know each other. It’s a challenge to be sure.

Robin Bissell has directed a penetrating, uncomfortable gem. Everyone delivers a superb acting turn. Henson and Rockwell are stellar. Anne Heche, who plays C.P.’s wife turns in some good work as does John Gallagher Jr. whose business is shut down after he sides with the black folks.  Good performances from  Ceesay, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Wes Bentley, Bruce McGill, and Nick Searcy.

Bissell’s direction places the audience in the middle of this backward town.  It’s a painful place to be.

Best of Enemies, based on the book by Osha Gray Davidson, is both an ugly and a beautiful story all at once. It’s compelling, gut-wrenching, provocative, volatile, and intense.

Best of Enemies, written and directed by Robin Bissell, stars Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Wes Bentley, Anne Heche, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Bruce McGill, Babou Ceesay, John Gallagher Jr., Nick Searcy, Caitlin Mehner, Sope Aluko, and Rhoda Griffis.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), The Best of Enemies gets an O (oh, yeah).