{"id":831,"date":"2015-01-29T23:19:02","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T23:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/?p=831"},"modified":"2015-01-29T23:19:02","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T23:19:02","slug":"black-or-white-is-more-grey-but-in-a-good-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/peanutsandpopcorn\/2015\/01\/black-or-white-is-more-grey-but-in-a-good-way.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Black or White\u2019 is More Grey \u2013 but in a Good Way"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jillian<\/a>
Jillian Estell and Kevin Costner star in “Black or White.” (Relativity)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kevin Costner is a busy actor these days playing everything from a superhero\u2019s father (Man of Steel<\/em>) to a dying CIA agent (3 Days to Kill<\/em>). Next month he\u2019ll play a high school cross country coach in McFarland, USA<\/em>, but this weekend he shines as the imperfect Elliott Anderson in Black or White<\/em>. It\u2019s a different type of role for him. He\u2019s a lawyer, he\u2019s old and he\u2019s salty.<\/p>\n

As the movie opens, we are with Elliott at the hospital when he receives news that his wife who was in a car accident didn\u2019t survive. Understandably he falls apart. Not so understandably, he turns to the bottle for help. Back home, Elliott is tasked in telling his granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estell) the sad news. Eloise\u2019s mother, (Elliott\u2019s daughter), died in childbirth and Eloise barely knows her father. Eloise\u2019s mother was white; her father is black.<\/p>\n

To make matters more difficult, Eloise\u2019s grandmother on her father\u2019s side, Rowena (Octavia Spencer), wants nothing more than for her son, Duvan (Mpho Koaho) to be reunited with Eloise. That\u2019s not going to happen if Elliott get\u2019s his way. Let the courtroom drama begin.<\/p>\n

Black and White<\/em><\/a> is unique in that nothing in it is completely\u2026black or white. Elliott is rich and can provide anything that his little Eloise would ever need. Rowena also has money, not the kind of money that Elliott has, but she is doing alright for herself. Elliott and Eloise live alone. Rowena has a huge family living with her. Duvan is a former drug addict. Elliott is an alcoholic. Questions rise up on whether Eloise would do better living with a black family rather than a white one. Some family members want to make the situation a race issue while others appear to be colorblind. There is no simple answer, but in the end, the right one wins out.<\/p>\n

Black or White<\/em> is not a perfect movie, but it is engaging. Jillian Estell is a charming actress and looks very natural throughout the film. However, one of the weirdest parts of the story is the inclusion of Elliott\u2019s business partner\u2019s girlfriend Fay played by Gillian Jacobs. She is a blond airhead whose character really has no reason for being in the movie. Fortunately, about after halfway through, she isn\u2019t anymore. Her character, obviously meant for comedy relief, just doesn’t work.<\/p>\n

The movie posters for the film make the story look more rosy than it is. Costner\u2019s character isn\u2019t really likeable (but of course he is grieving through most of it) and Octavia\u2019s character is a lot more fun than you would think it would be for a family drama like this.<\/p>\n

All in all, Black or White is definitely worth seeing and though the film is intended for adults, pre-teens could benefit from seeing this movie as well. Some great conversations could be had afterward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin Costner is a busy actor these days playing everything from a superhero\u2019s father (Man of Steel) to a dying CIA agent (3 Days to Kill). Next month he\u2019ll play a high school cross country coach in McFarland, USA, but this weekend he shines as the imperfect Elliott Anderson in Black or White. It\u2019s a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":558,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[773,776,774,105,775],"class_list":["post-831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies","tag-black-or-white","tag-jillian-estell","tag-kevin-costner","tag-movie-review","tag-octavia-spencer"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Black or White\u2019 is More Grey \u2013 but in a Good Way - Peanuts and Popcorn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Black or White\u2019 is More Grey \u2013 but in a Good Way - Peanuts and Popcorn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kevin Costner is a busy actor these days playing everything from a superhero\u2019s father (Man of Steel) to a dying CIA agent (3 Days to Kill). 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