Black or White

PG-13

Released Jan 30, 2015

2 hr. 1 min.

Drama

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List

39%

105 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When his wife dies in a car crash, Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner) fields another blow: the realization that he must raise his biracial granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estell), alone. However, the child's paternal grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer) feels that she is better equipped to take care of the child, and sues for custody. With Eloise caught in the middle, both Elliott and Rowena are forced to confront their true feelings about race, forgiveness and understanding.

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Critics Consensus

Black or White has more on its mind than your average family drama, but the film's approach to its thought-provoking themes too often lives down to its title.

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KB B

This was such a compelling film with a great cast and exceptional acting. Kevin Costner was superb as usual but Octavia Spencer is a true force. It's definitely worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/26/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Kevin Costner is spectacular in this movie despite the pathetic drivel of the painfully awful material..his scenes with the young actress playing his granddaughter are very moving. The actor playing the tutor shines also. The overall movie is beyond terrible and cringeworthy. I completely agree with the critics... panders to problematic sterotypes, doesnt have a redeeming message or even seem to know what the message might be, is tone deaf, messy, shallow and all over the place. A lost opportunity.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Isaiah Y

The film has a message but doesn't know how to put it in any memorable way.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/27/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Black or White is a movie that started with a good concept, and I was fully engaged in where the story would go. In fact, even if race wasn’t part of the plot, and every character was the same race, I think there was potential in this story. It’s just a shame that it was handled so poorly in the end (but I’ll get to that later.) I’ll give full credit to the first half of Black or White because it takes us on a journey as we slowly discover how this young girl came to live with her grandfather. I also felt that Kevin Costner was doing some decent acting, as his character struggled through a mountain of grief and anger that threatened to ruin him. Octavia Spencer comes in playing the same type of sassy woman that has become her trademark, but at least she manages to make this character type likable. Even Jillian Estell was not bad as the young girl who is at the heart of the entire story. I was on board for the early court proceedings, and I was interested to see which way the plot would take this custody trial since I was sympathizing with both of the grandparents. The downfall of Black or White comes quick and hard in the second half. When this movie introduces the estranged father of the young girl, it starts to ride the line of offensive stereotypes and I was completely taken off-guard. As things progress it jumps over the line into full offensive territory. At one point I felt like the writer/director was expecting us to pat the main character on the back for using the N-word at this guy. It’s the worst kind of justification for racism and white privilege imaginable and it plays even worse in our current climate. By the end, I felt despicable by association for even watching this movie. Spoilers for anyone who might feel a morbid curiosity and watch Black or White: They couldn’t even reach a settlement at the end where there was joint custody between the loving white grandfather and the loving black grandmother, instead the white man had to win outright. Despite the fact that, in many ways, he is completely unfit to raise a child. I give some leeway in my rating/ranking of Black or White because of that first half, but rest assured no one else should watch this movie as it is a horribly racist story that is constantly trying (but failing) to convince the audience that “it’s not about race” in a way that is more pathetic than a white guy claiming they aren’t racist because they have a black friend.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/19/20

Full Review

steve d

Heartfelt and well acted. It tackles a tough subject with care and is still entertaining.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Kevin Costner is perfect for this! And Octavia of Course. This is Life. I appreciate who I am; what will we fight about when we're all "beige"? I wish I'd caught it from the beginning. A very accurate look in to modern family.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

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Mike Binder

Director

Kevin Costner

Elliott Anderson

Octavia Spencer

Rowena Jeffers

Jillian Estell

Eloise Anderson

Bill Burr

Rick Reynolds

Mpho Koaho

Duvan Araga

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Black or White: Trailer 1

2:17

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Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

This very shallow, poorly conceived and developed film, which is based on a true story, is a well-meaning misfire.

Mar 15, 2017

Full Review

Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

Black or White isn't so much an offensive movie as it is a pointless one.

Jan 31, 2015

Full Review

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Oh, the bathos! The loony wrongheadedness of the screenplay!

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 31, 2015

Full Review

John Serba

Decider

It has something to say about, um, stuff and things, but doesn't know quite what that is.

Mar 4, 2021

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Costner, however, hasn't been this good in years. He's a believable drunk with the look of a man who has weathered tragedy but hasn't given up.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 2, 2021

Full Review

MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

[O]nly just skims the many provocative issues it touches on, and is rather anticlimactic in the end.

Oct 28, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

When his wife dies in a car crash, Elliott Anderson (Kevin Costner) fields another blow: the realization that he must raise his biracial granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estell), alone. However, the child's paternal grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer) feels that she is better equipped to take care of the child, and sues for custody. With Eloise caught in the middle, both Elliott and Rowena are forced to confront their true feelings about race, forgiveness and understanding.

Director: Mike Binder
Executive Producer: Jacob Pechenik, Robert Ogden Barnum, Cassian Elwes
Screenwriter: Mike Binder
Distributor: Relativity Media
Production Co: Treehouse Films, Sunlight Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|A Fight|Drug Use and Drinking|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 30, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.6M
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

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