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3 Comments

The Last White Knight

A bigoted good ol' boy relives Mississipi's bad old days.

By

DIRECTED BY PAUL SALTZMAN
2.5stars

Paul Saltzman’s The Last White Knight is, in theory, a laudable endeavour. Hoping to lend a human face to the still-festering phenomenon of American racism, the filmmaker and former civil rights activist sits down with Byron “Delay” De La Beckwith, a lifelong member of the Ku Klux Klan, and also the man who assaulted Saltzman outside a Leflore County courthouse in 1965. The resulting conversations are resolutely genial, even as Delay smirkingly recalls his participation in Klan campaigns to suppress black voter registration, and his father’s conviction for the 1963 murder of NAACP leader Medgar Evers.

Encouraged by Saltzman’s non-confrontational demeanor, Delay’s candor is often compelling. But their exchanges are ultimately less fascinating than Saltzman seems to believe. (His wonderment at their mutual capacity to overlook their divergent politics will be lost on anyone who’s ever politely endured a chat with a bigoted elder.) Meanwhile, Saltzman’s attempts to offer insight into Mississippi’s historical struggles with racial integration are undermined by his film’s erratic structure. Cutting haphazardly between the interviews with Delay and cursory contributions from the likes of Morgan Freeman (who worked with Saltzman on Prom Night in Mississippi) and Harry Bellafonte, The Last White Knight is well meaning, but decidedly muddled.

Comments

  • http://www.facebook.com/karen.shenfeld Karen Shenfeld

    I did not object as much as this reviewer to the film’s non-linear structure. Underpinning the film was its thematic trajectory, arising from the question: Is reconciliation possible? On both a personal level and on a societal level. Implicit, too, in the film is the now super-timely question of the ubiquitous presence of guns and gun culture in America. What I found most fascinating was the Klansman’s recollection of his childhood. From this, though the director of the film doesn’t hit you over the head with it, one can understand well how this man came to his views. If it had been possible, I would have liked to have met the children and grandchildren of this man. Scenes with them might have further enriched the film. But the gentleman comments that they do not share his racist views, so they likely refused to take part in the film.

  • Gisela McKay

    Possibly because I am black and not old enough to remember this era, I found the film fascinating. This is a cohort of people who are dying off (activist Jimmie Travis, interviewed in the film, died of pancreatic cancer not all that long after being caught on film).

    The opportunity to hear these stories first hand are rare, and I am willing to put up with a few jump cuts for the opportunity. It’s not like I am going to ever sit down in a room with any of the people on screen — especially not an armed member of the KKK.

    The reviewer clearly should stick to watching fictionalized versions of events, if he actually has any interest in the topic, which, based on this review, I doubt.

    • http://twitter.com/aHealthyDisdain Julian Carrington

      I’m curious as why you doubt my interest in the topic, Gisela. As it happens, I’m interested both in this film’s subject matter and in non-fiction films generally. The review doesn’t suggest that there’s nothing of value here — just that I didn’t find the film to be particularly cogent, or skillfully made.