Whoa. This was super timely despite being a film from the late ‘80s about an event that happened in the ‘60s. Both Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe rock in this. It is a classic pairing of the young, by the book, idealist and the rough, older guy who has seen it all. Both characters are smart and have great passion for the truth. This is what makes them the perfect pair to take on the Klan and the rest of the community to solve a gruesome murder. A lot of the film is actually really gruesome and after you watch it, that darkness of humanity stays with you because even though people are caught, nothing really changes. Like the FBI agents, we have ideals too and we’ve also seen the progress the world makes so we see it initially as a good thing. Despite that the country is so divided especially in race relations it sometimes feels like no progress has been made. The cinematography and the direction of the script, is also really great. It is hard to not be engaged by the film. Frances McDormand is an additional standout in the cast as the wife of the deputy.
