Black and White (1999 drama film)

Black and White
Black and White
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Toback
Written by	James Toback
Produced by	Daniel Bigel; Michael Mailer; Ron Rotholz ; Edward R. Pressman (executive producer)
Starring	Robert Downey Jr.; Gaby Hoffmann; Jared Leto; Joe Pantoliano; Power; Raekwon; Claudia Schiffer; William Lee Scott; Brooke Shields; Ben Stiller; Mike Tyson; Elijah Wood;
Cinematography	David Ferrara
Edited by	Myron Kerstein
Music by	American Cream Team
Production; company	Palm Pictures
Distributed by	Screen Gems (through Sony Pictures Releasing)
Release dates	September 4, 1999 (Telluride); April 5, 2000 (United States);
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$5 million

Black and White is a 1999 American drama film directed by James Toback, and starring Robert Downey Jr., Gaby Hoffmann, Allan Houston, Jared Leto, Scott Caan, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields, Bijou Phillips, and members of the Wu-Tang Clan (Raekwon, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Oli "Power" Grant, Masta Killa, Bruce Lamar Mayfield "Chip Banks" and Inspectah Deck) and Onyx (Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz). The film also features Ben Stiller as a sleazy police detective, as well as Mike Tyson playing himself and Michael B. Jordan in his film debut. It had its first showing at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4, 1999, followed by a second screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 15, 1999. It had its theatrical release in the United States on April 5, 2000.

Plot

Rich Bower (Power) is a mover and shaker in the world of rap music (he's involved with a number of other licit and illicit business ventures as well), and his apartment is a favored meeting place for musicians, hangers-on, and hipsters who want to seem cool, including a gang of white kids who want to be on the inside of what they consider the coolest scene of the day. Sam (Shields), a filmmaker, is making a documentary about Rich and his circle, with the help of her husband Terry (Downey), a homosexual who doesn't feel at home in this milieu.

Dean (Houston) is Rich's black friend since childhood and a skilled college basketball player. He is offered a deal by a bookmaker, Mark (Stiller) to throw a game for a price. Dean takes the money against his better judgment, and he soon realizes how much of a mistake he made when Mark turns out to be a cop hoping to dig up dirt on Rich. Rich in turn discovers that Dean might be forced to tell what he knows to stay out of jail, and he decides that Dean has to be killed; however, rather than murder his friend himself, Rich asks one of the white kids who hangs out with him, who seems especially eager to prove himself, to do it for him. The kid, however, is actually the son of the District Attorney.

Cast

Robert Downey Jr. as Terry Donager
Stacy Edwards as Sheila King
Gaby Hoffmann as Raven
Jared Leto as Casey
Joe Pantoliano as Bill King
Bijou Phillips as Charlie
Power as Rich Bower
Claudia Schiffer as Greta
William Lee Scott as Will King
Brooke Shields as Sam Donager
Ben Stiller as Detective Mark Clear
Mike Tyson as himself
Elijah Wood as Wren
Scott Caan as Scotty
Allan Houston as Dean Carter
Marla Maples as Muffy
Raekwon as Cigar
Eddie K. Thomas as Marty King
Kidada Jones as Jesse
James Handy as Sergeant Wright
Frank Adonis as Frank
Jaime McAdams as James
Michael B. Jordan as Teen number 2

Production

Most of the script was improvised by the cast.^[3] All of Claudia Schiffer's lines were completely written.^[3]

Because she had not had them done previously, Claudia Schiffer had to have her ears pierced especially for the large hoop earrings worn by her character. In addition to wearing fake dreadlocks, Brooke Shields also wore a nose ring for this film, for which she had her nose temporarily pierced.

Reception

Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 38% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 82 reviews; the critical consensus states, "The atmosphere is affecting, and the story, at times, is compelling, but with a lean script and limp direction, Black and White doesn't add up to much."^[4] On Metacritic, which assigns an average rating out of 100 based on review s from film critics, the film has a rating score of 47%, aggregating 27 reviews.^[5] Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars.^[6]

In the United States, Black and White grossed $5,241,315 in its four-week release.^[3]

References

^ "Black and White (2000)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
^ Black and White at Box Office Mojo
^ ^a ^b ^c "Black & White". IMDb.
^ "Black and White". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
^ "Black and White". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
^ Ebert, Roger (April 5, 2000). "Black and White". Roger Ebert. Retrieved July 11, 2014.