This movie once was called “Black and White” but “Black or White” might be more in keeping with its story.
Lawyer Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner) finds himself fighting for custody of his biracial granddaughter, Eloise (newcomer Jillian Estell), after the death of his dear wife in a car accident. Elliott’s wife handled many of the day-to-day chores, from fixing Eloise’s hair and good-naturedly scolding her about brushing her teeth to driving her to the tony prep school she attends.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Anthony Mackie, Jillian Estell.
Rating: PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language, thematic material involving drug use and drinking, and for a fight..
Eloise’s mom, Elliott’s daughter, died in childbirth, Eloise’s troubled father has been MIA for years, and the 7-year-old girl happily has been living with her maternal grandparents. A scene where she learns her grandmother has been killed should be one of the most powerful of the movie but it fails to hit the emotional mark.
Eloise’s outspoken paternal grandmother, Rowena Jeffers (Octavia Spencer), starts talking about shared custody but by the time her attorney brother, Jeremiah (Anthony Mackie), files papers, it turns into a request to have Eloise live with her full time. Jeremiah will spin it that Elliott’s “got a problem with black people.”
The custody hearing, the strategizing and the legal tug of war over a little girl everyone loves strip away the facades and feelings about race, weaknesses or failings, the ability or willingness to be a parent, long-simmering resentments and hurtful language.
They blind the participants to the possibility of a kitchen-table discussion or to the rational solution of a shared arrangement where Eloise gets to know all of her relatives. The unrealistic all-or-nothing approach undermines the story, which arrives during a crucial national debate about race, but “Black or White” keeps the focus so narrow that it doesn’t easily spill beyond this family’s boundaries.
“Black or White” was inspired by writer-director Mike Binder’s family. His wife’s sister died, leaving a 7-year-old biracial boy who split his time between Santa Monica and South Central.
Mr. Binder comes by the subject honestly, and cast two Oscar winners as the strong-willed grandparents, but the movie muddies the water and loses sight of what is in the best interest of Eloise. That is the point but it’s buried under booze, fisticuffs and excess family drama.
Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632.
First Published: January 30, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
