Detroit

Period films focusing on racial prejudiced related events shouldn't be taken lightly due to their reflection on discrimination our modern day society. It helps to observe a contrast between the conditions of that time in regards to prejudice towards race with that of our own, which ends up revealing how far and/or little we may have progressed from that treatment of equality. Some examples from this genre I'm familiar with include Do the Right Thing, Crash, Higher Learning, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Shawshank Redemption, and Hidden Figures. This brings us into another entry in that filmography, Detroit, which focuses on the police brutality angle during the Detroit race riots of the 1960s. One thing to keep in mind is that this director, Katherine Bigelow, has directed powerful movies such as The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty (films I haven't seen but am aware of their critical acclaim) that provide her with strong directing credits to bring attention to this entry. This is worth bringing up since, much like my last review (Girls Trip), the marketing campaign for films that are more captivating than modern disappointments are very lacking (or nonexistent) in the cinemas and the star power for this entry should have been enough in capturing the audiences attention. I entered the theater ready to see how it would impact me and left it not only shocked but terrified with the well crafted experience it provided.

Plot: This true story takes place during the 1967 Detroit 12th Street Riots where racial tension was at an all time high resulting in the national guard and army paratroopers being called over to assist in maintaining some sense of order. This has been split into threes acts that flow very well with each other: The beginnings of the riots that brought in the military support, the intense Algiers Motel incident, and the procedural trial surrounding the event. The intro shows a prologue giving a brief summary of what led to the start of the riots (accompanied by some weird animation). The atmosphere presents uncomfortable cold nature throughout most of the story, which is especially heightened in the second act. When someone gets killed, it doesn't dramatize the death but rather just shows them bleeding out and moves back to the situation at hand. One thing to keep track of is the jurisdiction and demeanor between the military soldiers and the cities law enforcement. 

Observing any differences you can spot happening during the incident and actions via the justice system to judge how similar circumstances are currently handled. It results in a drama horror movie filled with dread that's been well-crafted with the set design, good use of handheld camera for the most part, and extremely scary moments (an honorable mention going to one in the first 10 minutes where the patrolling military think they have spotted a sniper while patrolling down the streets...to those of you who have seen this, you know how shocking and horrifying it is). While the first two acts are pretty strong, the third act doesn't carry the same quality but is still worth checking out. Overall while the plot for Detroit is another standard period film focusing on discrimination, the effort it takes throughout it's three act structure is worth watching and reflecting on our modern society within the experience.

Characters: The people to focus on in Detroit are Larry Reed (Algee Smith), Melvin Dismukes (John Boyega), and Philip Krauss (Will Poulter). Larry is the lead singer of a professional black R&B, The Dramatics, who ends up going to the Algiers Motel with his friend after their bus is attacked by rioters and finds himself being terrorized by the suspecting police officers. Algee gives a great performance as this victim from his charisma when socializing with his friend and the women they meet to dealing with the trauma being inflicted on him at the hands of abusive cops. Melvin is a black security officer working at a grocery store that night who tries to stay in good favor with Guardsmen and goes with them to the Algiers Motel. John does a solid portrayal in terms of his mannerisms towards the victims as well as the police officers in his facial expressions reacting to the events taking places. The dynamic between him and the cops is interesting to pay attention to (considering the racial tensions).

Philip is the lead racist police officer abusing black men and two women at the motel. Will gives an excellent depiction as the creepiest and scariest cop in the movie to the point where he's the MVP out of the entire cast from his dreaded movements (whether it's his eyebrows or his smile) down to the his chilling dramatic chops establishing the corrupt nature within the force throughout the second act. Honorable mentions to go Julie Ann (Hannah Murray) and Greene (Anthony Mackie) since even though most of the public is familiar with their roles in popular shows and cinematic universes (Game of Thrones and the Marvel Cinematic Universe respectively) neither of them have been given that many opportunities to prove their acting chops (notably Anthony due to the abundance of comedic relief he has to put up with), both of them give impressive performances here that only great directors can bring out of them and shouldn't be underestimated when they are on screen. Overall the lead actors provide excellent dramatic chops for their roles that heighten the experience that Detroit aims for with the supporting cast bringing admirable acting that shouldn't go overlooked.

Overall Consensus: Detroit gives an intimidating but honest reflection on racism in our modern reality via powerful leading performances, faithful respect to the horrifying incident it focused on in the time period, and a realistic truth on the limits of the justice system at hand. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You want to see movies that give a brutal but honest reflections on racism in our modern day through an event where racial tensions were heightened. You like period movies that briefly feature pieces of Motown. You like movies that portray police brutality in an intimidating creepy manner. You want to reflect on how our modern society deals with discrimination.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike period films that focus on prejudice. You don't like movies that features police brutality. You are uncomfortable watching period movies that feature riots taking place and/or watching people bleed out to death when mortally wound by gunfire.

Coming up next: August has been going pretty well with the blockbusters having died down and the lesser known movies slowly coming to attention. With the fall approaching, there will most likely be a slow down in the more advertised movies. There's a good chance of recently released independent films that will be covered here and those will be announced on the Screening Spectacles Facebook page.