The Best of Enemies (2019)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A civil rights activist and a Ku Klux Klan leader are forced to work together to discuss segregation in 1970s North Carolina.
The story
In 1971 in Durham, North Carolina, civil rights activist Ann Atwater seeks better housing for poor black people but is ignored by an all-white judge panel. When a local Ku Klux Klan president, C. P. Ellis, fears black children will enter white schools following a fire at a black school, a mediator named Bill Riddick organizes a meeting between the two rivals. Despite their mutual hatred, they are convinced to participate in charrettes to discuss segregation. The group must navigate intense racial tensions as they attempt to deliberate on community issues, with C.P. and Ann forced to confront their opposing ideologies in a tense, shared environment.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1971 Durham, North Carolina, Ann Atwater and KKK leader C.P. Ellis are brought together by Bill Riddick to discuss segregation. During the meetings, C.P. refuses to sit with Ann and demands KKK items be displayed, while Ann stops black teenagers from destroying those items. Bill forces the rivals to eat together in silence. C.P. discovers his son, Larry, who has Down syndrome, is in a room with a screaming boy at a facility; Ann eventually convinces the staff to give Larry his own room. After visiting the burned black school, C.P. is shocked by the damage, and his wife Mary begins to question his racism. Before a final vote on desegregation, C.P. learns his KKK friends are threatening voters, including a Vietnam veteran he befriended. During the vote, C.P. surprises everyone by voting for desegregation, declaring the KKK hateful, and ripping up his membership card. He is subsequently shunned by his community, but Ann and Bill help him find new customers. In real life, the two remained friends until C.P.'s death, at which point Ann gave his eulogy.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robin Bissell
- Writers
- Robin Bissell · writer
- Cast and characters
- Taraji P. Henson · Ann Atwater; Sam Rockwell · C. P. Ellis; Babou Ceesay · Bill Riddick; Anne Heche · Mary Ellis; Wes Bentley · Floyd Kelly; Nick Searcy · Garland Keith; Bruce McGill · Carvie Oldham; John Gallagher Jr. · Lee Trombley
- Genres
- drama; biographical drama
- Themes
- Racial Segregation; Reconciliation; Civil Rights; Prejudice
- Tone and mood
- Dramatic; Tense
- Setting
- Durham, North Carolina, 1971
- Premise and plot tags
- Based on a Book; Based on Real Events; Biographical; Historical Drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South by Osha Gray Davidson
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with a 51% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 49/100 score on Metacritic. However, it received an 'A' grade from CinemaScore and a positive 82% score from PostTrak.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 82%
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a 1996 book.; The film was shot in Georgia.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…