The Suspect

I think the description of the movie may have thrown me off a little bit, because I was expecting the events to turn out differently, and the lead characters to be different.

I must say, when the experiment that is the movie's plot goes wrong and the goals of the experiment start to reveal itself, it made for an interesting roller-coaster of events done in a very low key matter, and very well.

It's funny, the movie tries to be cleaver and show you that things are not what they seem, but it messes up somewhere and the movie falls victim of the point it was trying to make, and as a result does not make it at all.

the summary made me feel that it was trying to speak out against prejudice, but I felt everyone in the film just got stereotyped.

I don't know if the filmmaker intended to do this or realized what he was doing, but if that's not the case he may want to strangle the man who promoted this film. It's a good film if you can take race out of the equation, I couldn't.

"You're not from around here. You got no identification. You got no car. You're covered in dirt like you've been digging somewhere and to top it all off..." Two college professors are working on a study in racial dynamics and bias. They plan to rob a bank in a small town record how they are treated before they give the money back. Things are going as planned until they find a sheriff (Sadler) who will stop at nothing to get a positive identification. When the partner doesn't show up with the money to prove it's all an act things take a serious turn. This is a difficult movie to review. It is very good but it's hard to talk too much about it without giving anything away. I will say though that the movie at the same time breaks down and supports certain stereotypes, when you watch you will see what I mean. The best part of the movie though is that you never are quite sure what is going on and it keeps you guessing all the way until the end. This is the type of movie where there is really no defined good or bad guys. That makes a movie more fun to watch. Overall, a movie that stays one step ahead of you the entire time, I like movies like that. I give this a B+.

Good Movie story line, well acted.

To Bad whomever was in charge of costumes, didn't bother with checking some of the props that were used on the uniforms of the Officers... the Sheriff had both a PFC and a Spc4 insignias on his uniform and all the officers were displaying multiple rank insignias of Private, corporal or Sergeant ranks at the same time. Noticed the insignia for Artillery on one shoulder panel and the Sheriff had infantry insignia on his breast pocket. Jeesh any military person could have advised them better than the person they had handling wardrobe.

Other that that, not a bad movie..

A perfect start to a film is watching landscapes and the introduction to a venue, while listening to a radio updating you. In seconds you are put into the situation. A small town has just experienced a bank robbery. And a sheriff of a completely white small town leaves the police car to start an interrogation of a black man which is suspected of the robbery. Simply great, and a great start of the film.

I like a film that is different, and this is very original both in the storytelling and in the plot. I was engaged in the story all the way through, though it's a little bit confusing. There's even some flash backs to help you understand. By no way perfect, but still interesting and engaging. On a large budget this would have potential to be a large hit.

William Sadler is great as the sheriff, as is Mekhi Phifer as the suspect. It's a low budget production but they have made the best out of it. Talented film making by first time offender Stuart Connelly! Go see it!

I was certainly entertained by the movie. Since the synopsis has it, the fact that the two black guys are university professors/researchers is not a spoiler. The other twists are interesting enough. The premise holds your interest through its run time, and the film doesn't run too long.

One minor issue was all of the jump backs in time. It was a little much to keep track of what is present day vs. past.

The BIG issue is that (and this is not spoiler either) even if they returned the money and explained themselves, they still committed a crime. It's a little far-fetched that they would be let off scot-free by multiple cities, EVEN when the nature of their study is explained (the race card stuff). I get that they want you to think that they are let go because of the explanation and the notion that if the race stuff got out, it would make the cops look bad, so they just let them go.

It's somewhat of a clever script, I'll give them that, and the performances are good. I'm giving it 6/10 out because 5 is average and this is ever-so-slightly above that, but this isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's an entertaining watch if you can see it for free or very low cost.