The Best of Enemies

  • Rated PG 13
  • 2hr 13m
  •  (343)
  • 49

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Videos & Photos

  • Official Trailer 2
  • Official Trailer
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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Robin Bissell

Producer:

Danny Strong, Fred Bernstein, Matt Berenson

Writer:

Robin Bissell

Release Date:

Apr 5, 2019

Runtime:

2hr 13m

Synopsis

Can anyone ever truly change? This nearly unbelievable true story suggests they can. It’s 1971 in Durham, North Carolina. The Civil Rights movement is in full swing, and activist Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson) argues for school integration over the objections of C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell), an Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan.

Despite the volatility of their diametrically-opposed viewpoints, a city councilman calls Atwater and Ellis to co-lead an extended series of meetings to manage the city’s transition to integration. Despite their differences, the two have to find common ground and find a path to the future together.

Cast

  • Taraji P. Henson
  • Sam Rockwell
  • Babou Ceesay
  • Nick Searcy
  • Wes Bentley
  • Anne Heche
  • Bruce McGill
  • John Gallagher
  • Nicholas Logan
  • Gilbert Glenn Brown

Atom User Reviews

 4.7 out of 5
251
76
13
1
2
POPULAR TAGS
#truestory
#inspiring
#greatcast
#mustsee
#great
#intense
#epic
#allthefeels
#mustseebro
#awardbuzz
#familyfriendly
#original
#seeingitagain
#blockbuster
#smart
#clever
#surprising
#predictable
#justokay
#slow
Verified Review

Excellent Movie!!! I'm glad this story was told and we as a nation can learn from it.

5 of 5 helpful votes
AT
Aneesah T
Verified Review
#epic

This movie is awesome!! I live in NC and had no idea of this great piece of history in our back door!

5 of 5 helpful votes
FS
Frieda S
Read all 343 customer reviews

Metacritic

49
metacritic
Based on 25 Critics
6.4

USER SCORE (35)

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Reviews
50
Apr 10, 2019

The “beats” in the story where hearts are supposed to swell are so telegraphed as to render The Best of Enemies emotionally flat. There are no surprises, no change-ups, no setbacks in this collision of sensibilities.

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Jim Slotek
Original-Cin
63
Apr 5, 2019

Despite the strong performances and more than a few audience-pleasing moments where peace and love triumph over stupidity and bigotry, the film travels such an obvious path and falls into such a predictable rhythm, it doesn’t quite carry the emotional resonance such a powerful true-life story should convey.

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Metacritic review by Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
50
Apr 4, 2019

Bissell’s fudging of the facts (which includes completely making up the reasons behind the charrette) doesn’t create a story that’s more insightful or dramatically cohesive than the real thing; the only thing it reveals, if indirectly, is liberalism’s longstanding discomfort with the relationship between civil rights and labor movements.

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Metacritic review by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
The A.V. Club
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