Black and White 8mm Video Film

Hello
The work is with dozens of black and white film shot in the 1970s.
Attached is a frame from this video. Other areas of the video are very flat. I can slightly improve the quality using brightness and contrast, luma curve, shadow and highlight from the array of Video Effects.
I may be using the wrong tool from VE. Is there a better tool to use that would help in creating a better overall black and white tonality? or perhaps a third party plug in?
Let me know!
Thanks