“Black or White,” written and directed by Mike Binder, tells the story of Elliot Anderson (Kevin Costner), an older white man attempting to take care of his daughter’s mixed-race child, Eloise (Jillian Estell). Eloise’s grandmother on her absent father’s side, Rowena Jeffers (Octavia Spencer), seeks custody of Eloise because she believes Eloise deserves to be with her larger extended family of color and have an ethnic history, two things Elliot cannot give Eloise. The argument over who should have custody over Eloise progresses into court and becomes a battle between two parties that genuinely love Eloise.

For a movie with a fairly predictable ending, this film has a very lengthy run time. The movie takes two hours to tell a story that could be summed up in an hour and a half. These extra minutes are filled with awkwardly drawn-out scenes that feel totally superfluous, such as the first time we see Elliot with Eloise’s father, played by André Holland. The scene establishes its significance within a minute or so, then continues into an uninteresting back-and-forth between the two men. 

The soundtrack also detracted from the film. I couldn’t help but become removed from the movie, wondering as to why they chose a certain song or melody, which did not seem to fit the scene at all. For example, a somewhat sensuous, noir-sounding love theme played over a scene in which a father sees his daughter for the first time in many years.

The way the movie attempts to preach the moral middle ground made me leave the theater with the impression that the movie had not accomplished anything. I left with the sense that I had just attended a failed lecture and that I was neither entertained nor enlightened. The audience witnesses plenty of events that excuse Elliot’s actions as the angry father to a daughter and granddaughter both affected by Eloise’s father. 

When Rowena Jeffers’ lawyer accuses Elliot of racism in court, Costner delivers a very anticlimactic speech through his character about how he sees racism. The speech is to be construed as an inspirational and articulate matter-of-fact speech about the reality of racism and how we need to get over it. I was not particularly blown away by this speech and consequently, I was not challenged emotionally to reflect on any of the points it made.

The movie frequently attempts to draw a comparison between Eloise’s father and Elliot. We get excuses for Elliot’s vices, but Eloise’s father never receives the same courtesy from the writers concerning his drug problem. Elliot’s lawyer (Bill Burr) even says to Elliot at one point, “Maybe you’re not an alcoholic, you’re just a really angry man.” Therefore, the comparison made between the two father figures through what they both say and do creates a feeling of racial bias, instead of appearing impartial.

This was not a very strong or thoughtful movie, although it may attempt to be inspirational and right-minded. I would only recommend this movie to someone who is determined to witness a perfectly tied-up story that leaves little room for interpretation. For those seeking a movie that discusses race relations in an artistic and reflective way, I suggest you find a theater still playing Ava DuVernay’s “Selma.”