BURDEN

By Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Directed by Andrew Heckler, actor turned director of mostly TV series – takes on a narrative feature based on a newspaper article he read in the early 90’s about a former KKK member who sells a White Supremacist Museum to a Black Baptist Church.

It was also documented on “60 Minutes”, otherwise, you’d never believe this to be a true story.

Unlike last year’s “Best of Enemies” starring Taraji P. Henson & Sam Rockwell, where the movie is told from the POV of a racist white male, having a come to Jesus change of heart; only the trailers make on that Henson’s character, a black woman fighting for social justice in her community, will be the center. “Burden” starring Garret Hedlund lets us know right from the trailer and the name, that Mike Burden, KKK member, is the protagonist of the piece, and it’s his story of abuse, PTSD, hatred and a surprisingly touching love story that’s the focus of the movie.

I’ve read some reviews that have not been kind to Hedlund’s performance, but I think he’s got the lumbering walk, man of few words talk, and bullying mannerisms of a red neck down perfectly. He works as a repo man for stuff that doesn’t look like it’s worth repossessing. During a job he meets Judy (Andrea Riseborough) the wife of a no account drunk. He immediately takes a shine to her and convinces his boss, Ku Klux Klan Leader and father figure, Tom Griffen (Tom Wilkinson) to let her keep her TV set, which isn’t important to her, but rather to her 8 year-old son, who’s big on watching NASCAR racing.

Things start to heat up between Mike and Andrea, with Mike finding ways to get the approval of her son. It would be a sweet, white trash romance, if it weren’t for the “small” matter of Mike being a card carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan and instrumental in the opening of the town’s KKK museum; which is being peacefully protested against by Reverend David Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) and his congregation.

Judy is more or less a let everyone do their own thing kinda person, so at first she doesn’t object to Mike’s “extra-curricular activities”. But when her son and his black friend are endangered, she demands he make a choice between her and the Klan.

Ultimately the movie is about faith, redemption, forgiveness and loving thy enemies, how we get there… is just okay. In a sea of stories about America’s ongoing battle of racism, stemming from certain white fears of losing complete control over everything – it’s a competent entry. But you can definitely wait to see it when it streams.

T&T the Large Association of Movie Blogs (aka the LAMb)rating: 2.5 outta 5