Black or White Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Black or White Blu-ray Movie Review

Race relations.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 6, 2015

It’s probably more than a bit of an understatement to say that race relations in the United States have not exactly been on a winning streak lately, which is one reason why Black or White is both so maddeningly incompetent as well as at times provocatively relevant and on point. Everything from the tragic Trayvon Martin incident to more recent headline grabbing deaths across the country, some leading to massive protests and even riots in places like Ferguson and Baltimore, prove that the so-called “struggle” is still a work in progress. Black or White struggles in a different way, though, with an interesting set up that devolves into cartoonish melodrama before just more or less miraculously pulling a Gilda Radner (so to speak) and saying, “Never mind.” The film begins with the death of the wife of attorney Elliot Anderson (Kevin Costner), though it’s notable that Black or White doesn’t actually reveal who exactly has died for an unexpectedly drawn out period. It turns out Elliot and his now deceased spouse have been raising their mixed race granddaughter Eloise (an adorable and appealingly natural Jillian Estell) since birth, a birth which resulted in the death of Elliot’s daughter (and Eloise’s mother). This new tragedy assaulting the domestic peace of the Anderson household presents new problems, however, in the form of Rowena Jeffers (Octavia Spencer), Eloise’s other grandmother, a well meaning if over excitable African American woman who wants her granddaughter to become better acquainted with that side of her genetic heritage. Elliot doesn’t seem all that averse to working something out, but in one of this film’s overly contrived plot points, Rowena ends up suing Elliot for full custody, this despite the fact that Elliot has raised the little girl from Day One, is obviously very wealthy and also just as obviously adores little Eloise.

Even before Black or White gets to that questionable point, writer-director Mike Binder is already in treacherous territory, nowhere more obvious than in the extremely odd scene where Elliot tells Eloise about the death of her grandmother. Elliot has taken to drinking quite a bit (a running “gag” of sorts throughout the film), and is shepherded to Eloise’s tony private school by his law partner Rick Reynolds (Bill Burr) and Rick’s girlfriend Fay (Gillian Jacobs). Elliot takes Eloise over to a bench on the campus and then in what is apparently supposed to be one of those comically awkward interchanges refers to Fay as Fudge, which then sets the scene off on a precipitous detour for an amazingly long period as Eloise argues about the woman’s real name. Then out of the blue Elliot simply lays the shocking news on Eloise about Grandma getting run over (no, really), twisting a bizarre and evidently ostensibly comic scene into equally bizarre tragedy. It’s an object lesson in inefficient screenwriting, one that obviously attempted to do something other than what ended up on screen.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s more than obvious that Binder is dealing in shades of gray throughout Black or White, doing a creditable job at poking around in some fairly nuanced and potentially problematic aspects to the racially charged relations between Rowena (or Wee Wee, as she’s called) and Elliot. Rowena’s brother Jeremiah (Anthony Mackie) is a high powered attorney himself and wants to frame the custody battle in solely racial terms. Here again Binder attempts to hedge his bets, with Rowena giving limp lip service to the idea that that isn’t what she wants, even if she does indeed want Eloise under her care.

On the other side of the coin, Elliot’s law firm is willing to go completely “postal” (so to speak), dredging up any number of unseemly aspects to Rowena’s past, or at least the pasts of her extended family, including drug addicted son Reggie (Andre Holland), Eloise’s completely absent father. Already anyone with half a brain in their heads is going to see the complete artifice of this set up: Eloise is in a loving home, one where her material needs are well tended to and where her emotional needs are being met at least at a baseline level. What possible chance does Rowena of attaining sole custody in a situation like this? The film at least has the courage to portray a no nonsense judge (Paula Newsome) who more or less says that very thing from the get go. That said, the plastering on of racial elements into an already overstuffed scenario often plays like pandering, though cynical minds may wonder to whom.

There are some really good moments in Black or White, as in the fantastic (if way too brief scene) where Jeremiah just rakes Reggie over the coals for providing “whites” with a stereotypical drug addled in absentia father. But these dramatic high points are offset but some curious (and usually ineffective) comedy, with Spencer seeming to think she’s once again in a very special episode of Mom (Grandmom?). The tonal imbalance here is just one of the problems afflicting this overstuffed film, but it’s the needlessly drawn out melodrama that ultimately weighs it down to a point where it can’t easily recover. The fact that “all is forgiven” (or at least tolerated) in a decidedly anti-climactic denouement may make some viewers wonder what they’ve spent the previous two hours doing, since everything is more or less back to where it started from, albeit of course with a new, more mature, understanding about it all.

Black or White Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black or White is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. This presentation is typically very appealingly sharp and well defined, offering a mostly natural looking palette as well as excellent to superb fine detail, especially in close-ups (see screenshot 1). Some of the interior scenes in Elliot's luxe manor are drenched in an amber hue (see screenshot 10), but generally detail and fine detail are not materially affected by these choices. The corporate boardroom where Rowena's brother does his dirty work is cast in slate blue (see screenshot 12), but once again detail is largely commendable. Image stability is excellent, and aside from one or two brief moments (see screenshot 14), clarity is superb. There are no issues with compression artifacts and Black or White boasts a very enjoyably crisp looking presentation.

Black or White Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Just in case you're not picking up on the subtext or need sonic pointers to show you the way toward emotional content, Black or White's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is stuffed full of source cues which supposedly provide pertinent subliminal information, and which are routinely well placed throughout the surrounds. Brief exterior moments like a raucous pool party at Elliot's house offer the chance for ambient environmental effects to create a lifelike sense of immersion. Dialogue is very cleanly presented and is always well prioritized. Fidelity is top notch throughout this problem free presentation.

Black or White Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Shades of Gray: The Making of Black or White (1080p; 23:54) has some fun behind the scenes footage interspersed with interviews and snippets of the final film.


• Promotional Featurettes:

  Kevin Costner Featurette (1080p; 2:02)

  Family First Featurette (1080p; 2:12)

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:17)

Black or White Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kevin Costner gives a really nice, lived in and rumpled performance in Black or White, and little Jillian Estell is aces as Eloise, but too much of this film is tame and redolent of made for television fare, rather than really poking the bear of race relations and getting into things uncomfortably deep. Elliot challenges Rowena at one point for "checkmating" him with the so-called "race card," asking how he's supposed to respond to stuff like that. The problem is, if Elliot doesn't know how, the film is never going to be able to answer the very pertinent questions it's asked, and that may be why Binder pretty much just gives up at the end, pasting over perceived differences to offer a (mostly) happy ending. Technical merits are first rate for those considering a purchase.