Black or White (film)

Black or White is a 2014 American legal drama film written and directed by Mike Binder. Starring Kevin Costner as Elliott Anderson and featuring Octavia Spencer, Gillian Jacobs, Anthony Mackie, and Bill Burr, the film centers on a custody battle following a tragic family loss. Elliott, recently widowed after a car accident, grapples with grief and alcoholism while striving to raise his biracial granddaughter, Eloise. The child's paternal grandmother, Rowena (Spencer), challenges Elliott’s guardianship and pushes for custody to be transferred to Eloise’s troubled father, sparking a tense courtroom confrontation. Produced on a modest $9 million budget, Black or White premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was widely released in the United States on January 30, 2015. It grossed approximately $21.7 million, receiving mixed reviews for its handling of race, family, and justice.

Black or White
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mike Binder
Written by	Mike Binder
Produced by	Kevin Costner Mike Binder Todd Lewis
Starring	Kevin Costner Octavia Spencer Jillian Estell Bill Burr Jennifer Ehle André Holland Gillian Jacobs Anthony Mackie
Cinematography	Russ T. Alsobrook
Edited by	Roger Nygard
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Production companies	Sunlight Productions Treehouse Films Treehouse Productions Venture Forth
Distributed by	Relativity Media (United States) IM Global (International)
Release dates	September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF) January 30, 2015 (2015-01-30) (United States)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$9 million[1]
Box office	$21.7 million[2]

Premise

Elliott Anderson is widowed after a car crash leads to the death of his wife. At the funeral, Rowena, his granddaughter Eloise's paternal grandmother, offers to care for Eloise, but Elliott angrily declines.

Elliott raises his granddaughter as he struggles with his grief by binge-drinking. Elliott's world is turned upside-down when Rowena demands that Eloise be brought under the care of her father Reggie, Rowena's son, who is addicted to drugs and whom Elliott blames for the negligence that led to the pregnancy and death of his own daughter.

Elliott soon finds himself deeply entrenched in a custody battle and will stop at nothing to keep his granddaughter from coming under the watch of her reckless father.

Cast

• Kevin Costner as Elliott Anderson
• Octavia Spencer as Rowena Jeffers
• Jillian Estell as Eloise Anderson
• Bill Burr as Rick Reynolds
• Mpho Koaho as Duvan Araga
• André Holland as Reggie Davis
• Jennifer Ehle as Carol
• Gillian Jacobs as Fay
• Paula Newsome as Judge Cummins
• Anthony Mackie as Jeremiah Jeffers

Production

On September 25, 2014, Open Road Films was in talks to acquire the US distribution rights to the film.^[3] On October 17, Relativity Media acquired the US rights to the film.^[4] Costner financed the film using his own money.^[5]

A thousand girls auditioned for the part of Eloise.^[5]

Filming

Principal photography of the film began on July 15, 2013, in New Orleans^[6] with the filming lasting for five weeks.^[7][8]

Release

Relativity planned to release the film in time to qualify for the Oscar race,^[4] starting with a limited release on December 3, 2014, then opening wide on January 30, 2015.^[9][10]

Home media

Black or White was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 5, 2015.^[11]

Reception

Box office

Black or White grossed $21.6 million in North America against a budget of $9 million.^[2]

In its opening weekend of January 30, 2015, the film made a gross of $2.3 million on Friday, $3 million on Saturday and $986,312 on Sunday for a weekend total of $6.2 million, playing in 1,823 with a per-theater average of $3,408 and ranking #4.^[12]

Critical response

Black or White received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 37% rating, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 5.19/10. The website's consensus reads: "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."^[13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.^[15]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Black and White never panders too easily to sentiments, creating characters who are riddled with flaws but likeable all the same."^[16] Scott Foundas of Variety praised Costner for his performance, calling it "some of the finest, most deeply felt work of his career" but was critical of the film "this well-intentioned family drama never quite shakes free from its didactic, movie-of-the-week dramaturgy and a hand-holding approach to race-relations."^[17]