you can almost imagine writer-director Mike Binder writing one scene, then tearing it up and re-writing, treading ever so carefully in territory that seems too precarious to deeply mine
despite excellent performances by Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer and other cast members, Mike Binder's racially tinged custody battle drama "Black or White" never achieves much in the way of dramatic credibility
although it has an uneven feel and a retro look, Black or White successfully peels away the politically correct layers of false civility beneath a still-raw taboo subject in American life and gives a volatile subject contemporary relevance
a racial melodrama that, until it stumbles into obvious and maudlin territory, is a thoughtful work thanks to Octavia Spencer, Anthony Mackie and especially Kevin Costner
by Claudia Puig [USA Today ]
by James Berardinelli [ReelViews ]
by Rex Reed [New York Observer ]
