“Black Or White” Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer

By

Monteque Pope Le Beau

Loss plays a large and difficult role in “Black Or White” causing the worlds of two families to be turned upside-down.

“Black Or White” is the story of Elliot Anderson a grandfather (Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner) who is suddenly left to care for his beloved granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estel) after his wife is killed in a horrible car crash. Elliot is forced to deal with his grief and anger just when the little girl’s African American paternal grandmother Rowena (Academy Award® nominee Octavia Spencer) is seeking custody. A legal battle ensues that forces the families to confront their true feelings on race, forgiveness and understanding.

This is an exquisitely done film. Which might very well be the finest performances Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer has given. The film is both moving and entertaining, yet with its deep emotional storytelling it gives one cause to think about what truly makes a family. Is it a family of blood, of race or of love that makes the difference. It is also a film of redemption and forgiveness. In a world where it is easy to hate and blame; “Black Or White” shows where there is love and understanding there is hope had healing. Anchored by an all-star cast and based on real events, the movie is a look at two seemingly different worlds, in which nothing is as simple as black or white.

Black Or White 121 min

Director: Mike Binder

Writer: Mike Binder

Limited Release: December 3,2014

Nationwide Release: January 23, 2015

“Black Or White” stars Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, Open Range, “Hatfield’s and McCoys”) and Octavia Spencer (The Help, “Red Band Society”), Gillian Jacobs (“Community,” The Box), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, The King’s Speech), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and Bill Burr (Date Night, “Breaking Bad”).