Now available on Blu-ray and DVD is the film Black or White. It stars Kevin Costner and Ocatvia Spencer.
The film opens with Kevin Costner’s character, Elliot Anderson, at the hospital. He just learned that his wife died from the injuries she received in a car accident.
Viewers soon learn that Elliot and his wife were raising their bi-racial granddaughter, Eloise. Her mother (their daughter) died at a young age during childbirth.
Now Elliot is has to raise his granddaughter on his own. He has to learn to do all the things his wife would do for Eloise including helping her with homework and combing her hair. Elliot worked a lot so it was his wife who took care of Eloise the most.
Eloise’s other grandmother, Rowena (grandma Wee Wee), understands the grief that Elliot is going through, but she feels strongly that Eloise should be raised by her and be around her cousins and other relatives. She doesn’t feel that it’s right for a rich, Caucasian man to be raising her bi-racial grandfather. Although Elliot can afford to give Eloise all the luxuries in life (private school, expensive tutor…), Eloise thinks that being around her extended family and embracing her African American side is more important.
When Elliot and Rowena can’t come to an agreement, Rowena takes Elliot to court to sue for legal custody of Eloise.
To complicate matters further, Rowena’s son and Eloise’s biological father has come back into their lives. He too wants custody of his daughter – or does he?
Who is better to raise Eloise? Which living arrangement is best for her? To find out you need to pick up a copy of Black or White, now available where most movies are sold.
This is a family friendly film for the most part, however there are some drug use references, a fight scene involving a knife, alcohol abuse and some racial slurs. I would recommend this for older children. It’s rated PG-13.
This is an interesting film. You can see that each side in this dispute only had Eloise’s happiness in mind. As a viewer I could see that each side made valid points. For me personally I felt that Eloise should remain with her grandfather because that is the only home she’s ever known and she lived with her grandfather and deceased grandmother since the day she was born.
The young girl who portrayed Eloise did a wonderful job. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a lot more of this talented young actress.
Actor Anthony Mackie is also in this film. He plays Rowena’s lawyer (and brother) Jeremiah. I’ve met Anthony twice and he is one of the funniest people I know. So it was a shock for me to see him playing such a serious, and unlikable role.
You can tell Kevin Costner’s character loved and adored his granddaughter, but I didn’t get the “warm fuzzies” from their relationship. It seemed like something was missing.
I liked Octavia Spencer’s characters. Her mannerisms and facial expressions spoke volumes. She also added a bit of comic relief to an otherwise serious film.
The film has some bonus features (depending on if you own Blu-ray or DVD.
- Shades of Gray: The Making of Black or White
- Kevin Costner Featurette (Blu-ray only)
- Family First Featurette (Blue-ray only)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Digital HD (Blu-ray only)
The run time is 121 minutes (not including the bonus features).
Below is the official trailer for the film for your enjoyment.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and no influenced in any way.
M.Clark says
This sounds live an interesting film, I’d give it a watch. Thank you for sharing this review.