View source for The Best of Enemies (2019 film)

{{Infobox film
| name           = The Best of Enemies
| image          = The Best of Enemies 2019 poster.jpg
| alt            =
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = Robin Bissell
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Danny Strong]]
* Fred Bernstein
* Matt Berenson
* Robin Bissell
* Dominique Telson
* [[Tobey Maguire]]
* Matthew Plouffe
}}
| writer         = Robin Bissell
| based_on       = {{Based on|''The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South''|[[Osha Gray Davidson]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Taraji P. Henson]]
* [[Sam Rockwell]]
* [[Babou Ceesay]]
* [[Anne Heche]]
* [[Wes Bentley]]
* [[Nick Searcy]]
* [[Bruce McGill]]
}}
| music          = [[Marcelo Zarvos]]
| cinematography = David Lanzenberg
| editing        = [[Harry Yoon]]
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Astute Films
* Material Pictures
}}
| distributor    = [[STX Entertainment|STXfilms]]
| released       = {{Film date|2019|4|5}}
| runtime        = 133 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $10 million<ref name=BOM/><ref name=NUM/>
| gross          = $10.2 million<ref name=BOM>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=thebestofenemies2019.htm |title=''The Best of Enemies'' (2019) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=[[IMDb]] |accessdate=August 11, 2019}}</ref><ref name=NUM>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Best-of-Enemies-The-(2019)#tab=summary |title=''The Best of Enemies'' (2019) |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |publisher=Nash Information Services, LLC |accessdate=August 11, 2019}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Best of Enemies''''' is a 2019 American [[drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed and written by Robin Bissell in his [[list of directorial debuts#2019|feature debut]]. It is based on the book ''The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South'' by [[Osha Gray Davidson]], which focuses on the rivalry between civil rights activist [[Ann Atwater]] and [[Ku Klux Klan]] leader [[C. P. Ellis]]. The film stars [[Taraji P. Henson]], [[Sam Rockwell]], [[Babou Ceesay]], [[Anne Heche]], [[Wes Bentley]], [[Bruce McGill]], [[John Gallagher Jr.]], and [[Nick Searcy]]. It was released in the United States on April 5, 2019, by [[STX Entertainment]].
== Plot ==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summary should be between 400 to 700 words. -->
In 1971 in [[Durham, North Carolina]], [[Ann Atwater]] tries to get better housing conditions for poor black people, and is ignored by the all-white judge panel. [[C. P. Ellis|C.P.]] is the president of the [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]], and cares for his children. Ann's daughter's school catches on fire, and C.P. is afraid that the black children will come to the white schools. Bill Riddick sets up a meeting with them both, to arrange [[charrette]]s to discuss segregation and other issues.
At first both refuse, as they hate each other, but then they are convinced. C.P. is a proud racist and refuses to sit with Bill and Ann, since they are black and he is white.
They agree to pick some people randomly from the group to vote on the issues at the end of the meeting sessions. C.P tries to talk to these selected to vote, but is rebuffed. A black reverend asks Bill if he can play gospel music at the end of each session. C.P. refuses, saying that if the Black people want to sing gospel music at the charrette, he should be allowed to put out his KKK items on display. Ann refuses, but Bill agrees.
At one meeting, a group of black teenagers tries to destroy the KKK items, but Ann stops them and tells them to instead understand what the KKK is. C.P. observes.
Bill insists Black and White people in their group sit next to each other in the cafeteria as they eat. He makes C.P and Ann sit together alone. They eat in tense silence, then she asks him if he has a boy in Murdock. C.P. refuses to talk about his son. Murdock is a facility for disabled boys, and his son has [[Down Syndrome]].
C.P. rushes to Murdock, as his son Larry has been put in the same room with another boy who is screaming, upsetting Larry. C.P. demands that his son be placed in a room of his own, but the nurses say he can't afford it. Ann visits Larry and convinces Bernadette, who works there, to put him in his own room.
Bill takes Ann, C.P., and the rest of their group to visit the black school that was burned. C.P. is shocked by the damage. Ann's daughter says hi to Ann, but gives C.P the evil eye when she realises who he is. C.P.'s wife Mary, overjoyed with Ann's help, goes to thank her. Ann is told that C.P. has always been racist.
The night before the final vote, C.P.'s KKK troublemaking friends threaten the selected voters to vote for segregation. When C.P. finds out, he is dismayed. When Ann hears about it, she screams at C.P., calling him a coward.
During the voting, all the issues pass, coming down to the final issue of desegregation. The voters give their vote one by one. Ann votes for it, and C.P. surprises everyone by doing the same, realizing the KKK is hateful. He also makes a speech and rips up his KKK membership card, to the fury of his watching KKK friends. They threaten him and try to set fire to his gas station but C.P. douses it. The white community shuns and boycotts his station. Ann and Bill bring in the black community to buy from him instead.
The real life Ann and C.P. went around to different cities together, to talk about their experiences. They remained friends to the end of C.P.'s life, with Ann giving the eulogy at his funeral.
== Cast ==
* [[Taraji P. Henson]] as [[Ann Atwater]], a community organizer in Durham
* [[Sam Rockwell]] as [[C. P. Ellis]]
* [[Wes Bentley]] as Floyd Kelly
* [[Babou Ceesay]] as Bill Riddick
* [[Anne Heche]] as Mary Ellis
* [[Bruce McGill]] as Carvie Oldham
* [[John Gallagher Jr.]] as Lee Trombley
* [[Nick Searcy]] as Garland Keith
* [[Afemo Omilami]] as Franklin Mose
* [[Sope Aluko]] as Henrietta Kaye
* Carson Holmes as Kenneth Wade Ellis
== Production ==
In June 2015, it was announced that [[Taraji P. Henson]] and [[Sam Rockwell]] would star in a civil rights drama, an adaptation of [[Osha Gray Davidson]]'s history ''The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South''. Robin Bissell was attached to make his directorial debut from his own script.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fleming |first1=Mike Jr. |title='Empire's Taraji P. Henson And Danny Strong Re-Team On Robin Bissell-Helmed 'The Best Of Enemies' |url=https://deadline.com/2015/06/empire-taraji-p-henson-danny-strong-the-best-of-enemies-ann-atwater-cp-ellis-robin-bissell-1201453074/ |access-date=October 11, 2018 |work=Deadline |date=June 24, 2015}}</ref> Filming began on May 22, 2017, in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |title=Sam Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson Team for True-Life Drama 'The Best of Enemies' (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sam-rockwell-taraji-p-henson-team-true-life-drama-best-enemies-1004322 |access-date=October 11, 2018 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=May 17, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> In July 2018, [[STX Entertainment]] acquired the film's domestic distribution rights.<ref>{{cite news |last1=N'Duka |first1=Amanda |title='The Best Of Enemies': STXfilms Nabs Drama Starring Taraji P. Henson-Sam Rockwell |url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/stxfilms-taraji-p-henson-sam-rockwell-the-best-of-enemies-1202427132/ |access-date=October 11, 2018 |work=Deadline |date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> Producers on the film were [[Danny Strong]], Fred Bernstein, Matt Berenson, Bissell, Dominique Telson, and Material Pictures' [[Tobey Maguire]] and Matthew Plouffe.<ref name="Oct2018V" /> The trailer was released on October 11, 2018.<ref name="Oct2018CS">{{cite news |last1=Hemmert |first1=Kylie |title=Taraji P. Henson Is Ann Atwater in The Best of Enemies Trailer |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/trailers/995393-taraji-p-henson-is-ann-atwater-in-the-best-of-enemies-trailer |access-date=October 11, 2018 |work=ComingSoon.net |date=October 11, 2018}}</ref>
== Release ==
''The Best of Enemies'' was released in the United States on April 5, 2019, by [[STX Entertainment]],<ref name="Oct2018V">{{cite news |last1=McNary |first1=Dave |title=Taraji P. Henson-Sam Rockwell Drama 'Best of Enemies' Sets Release Date |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/taraji-p-henson-sam-rockwell-drama-best-of-enemies-release-1202973989/ |accessdate=October 11, 2018 |work=Variety |date=October 9, 2018}}</ref> and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 18, 2019.<ref name=NUM/>
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
''The Best of Enemies'' grossed $10.2 million in North America and $11,831 in other territories, against a production budget of $10 million.<ref name=BOM/><ref name=NUM/>
In the United States and Canada, ''The Best of Enemies'' was released alongside ''[[Shazam! (film)|Shazam!]]'' and ''[[Pet Sematary (2019 film)|Pet Sematary]]'', and was projected to gross $6–12 million from 1,705 theaters in its opening weekend.<ref name=VarietyBO>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/shazam-box-office-opening-weekend-pet-sematary-1203177258/|title=Box Office: 'Shazam!' Heads Toward $45 Million-Plus Opening Weekend|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|author=Rebecca Rubin|date=April 3, 2019|accessdate=April 3, 2019}}</ref> It made $1.6 million on its first day, including $265,000 from Thursday night previews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/shazam-pet-sematary-weekend-box-office-opening-1202588955/|title='Shazam!' Whams $5.9M In Thursday Night U.S. Previews For $9.2M Cume, Eyes $145M+ WW Launch – Friday AM Update|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|author2=Nancy Tartaglione|date=April 5, 2019|accessdate=April 5, 2019}}</ref> It ended up debuting to just $4.4 million, finishing sixth at the box office.<ref name=opening>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/shazam-opening-weekend-box-office-the-joker-pet-sematary-1202589627/|title='Shazam!' Surges To $53M+ Opening; 'Pet Sematary' Claws $24M – Saturday AM B.O. Update|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|date=April 6, 2019|accessdate=April 6, 2019}}</ref> The film fell 55% in its second weekend to $2 million, finishing tenth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/hellboy-shazam-weekend-box-office-1202594516/|title='Shazam!' Still The Man With $23M+; 'Little' Grows Up; 'Hellboy' Cold With $12M+; 'After' Works Overseas – Midday B.O. Update |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |author=Anthony D'Alessandro|date=April 14, 2019|accessdate=April 14, 2019}}</ref>
=== Critical response ===
On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Best of Enemies'' has the best of intentions, but they're derailed by a problematic perspective and a disappointing lack of insight."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_best_of_enemies_2019|title=''The Best of Enemies'' (2019)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 49 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-best-of-enemies |title=''The Best of Enemies'' Reviews |work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |accessdate=August 11, 2019}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at [[PostTrak]] gave it an overall positive score of 82% and a "definite recommend" of 70%.<ref name=opening/>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{official}}
*''[http://stxmovies.com/thebestofenemies/ The Best of Enemies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321100140/http://stxmovies.com/thebestofenemies/ |date=2019-03-21 }}'' at STX Entertainment
*{{IMDb title}}
*{{AllMovie title}}
*''[http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/best-of-enemies/ The Best of Enemies]'' at ''[[History vs. Hollywood]]''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best of Enemies, The}}
[[Category:2019 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:2019 films]]
[[Category:American biographical drama films]]
[[Category:2019 biographical drama films]]
[[Category:STX Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Tobey Maguire]]
[[Category:Drama films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films about the Ku Klux Klan]]
[[Category:Films based on non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos]]
[[Category:Films set in 1971]]
[[Category:Films set in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:2019 drama films]]
[[Category:2010s English-language films]]
[[Category:2010s American films]]
[[Category:English-language biographical drama films]]