Detroit

'DETROIT': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new crime drama based on the racially charged Algiers Motel incident, during the 1967 12th Street riot in Detroit (the film was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the horrific incident). The movie was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and it was written by acclaimed journalist/screenwriter Mark Boal (the duo also performed the same duties on both 2008's Best Picture winner 'THE HURT LOCKER', and 2012's Best Picture nominee 'ZERO DARK THIRTY'). The film stars John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jason Mitchell, Jacob Latimore, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Jack Reynor, Ben O'Toole, John Krasinski and Anthony Mackie (who also costarred in 'THE HURT LOCKER'). It's received almost unanimous positive reviews from critics, and it's also a modest hit at the Box Office as well. I found it to be extremely well made and involving.

The film begins with a police raid of a private party, in 1967 Detroit, which then resulted in multiple days of rioting. The story then centers on a police raid of the Algiers Motel, on July 25th, where police believed a sniper fired on them from. The raid resulted in the terrorizing of several black suspects, and two white women, and the deaths of some of those involved. The story then shifts to the court room battle that followed the incident.

The movie is interesting, and pretty intense, from pretty much the opening scene until the last. All of the performances are good in it as well, and of course Bigelow's direction is almost flawless. For me the film was also very educational, as I knew very little about these events in history (prior to seeing the movie). I think the film is yet another great example of what a talented filmmaker Bigelow is, and obviously her and Boal make a great team together too. It's also cool to see Boyega in another strong starring role; a 'STAR WARS' actor that's actually making a name for himself (outside of the franchise) is always good to see.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/W6So6Kz52VQ

Director Katheryn Bigelow does a wonderful job of creating a great deal of tension. She does so by cutting from one tightly framed slightly wobbly shot to the next. Each character's face floods nearly the entire screen after each of these cuts. This makes the movie deeply personal and almost claustrophobic at times. The slight wobbles of the camera as it focuses on a face, adds to the uneasiness and unstable nature of the situation.

What I'm saying is the movie is expertly directed. That's evident early on and remains that way throughout. The issue holding this movie back from becoming one of serious best picture caliber is the writing. The story felt a bit underdeveloped.

The brief on-screen text explanation of the tension between the Detroit Police and the city's black residents could have served as a helpful addition to a setup that followed in the movie. I would have had no problem with that. But after the movie plays for 20 minutes or so, I realized that the text was the sole source of setup.

That's a classic case of telling instead of showing. Movies are a video medium. Use that. Don't casually display the text on screen. This choice may have been made for the sake of time, but I think the filmmakers would have been wise to focus more on the setup aspect. The text explanation felt like an inconsiderate means of storytelling.

After the opening text, the movie meanders for a while, eventually introducing the key characters and providing an appetizer of their personalities, foreshadowing their upcoming behavior.

Moments like these showcased strengths in the writing. The writing did not completely ruin the movie; it simply was not an Oscar-contending performance, like Bigelow's work.

The movie overall is well made, thanks in large part to Bigelow's deft direction, but it's not without flaws. One that I already mentioned is that I wanted the actual movie (not solely text) to better set the stage of this city that's on the verge of riot.

The second criticism ties into the first. Because of the lack of stage setting, this becomes a movie that expertly depicts the what, but fails to fully deliver on the why.

I see the riots. I see the emotional toll that police misconduct had on the abused citizens. I see the guilt that certain uniformed personnel felt for standing by and allowing the abuse to take place. What I didn't see enough of is why all this happened. I wanted a more personal detailing of what led up to the night shown in the movie. The actions are clear and powerful, but the motivations are vague and weak.

I came away from the movie wondering what message the filmmakers hoped to convey. While the title is Detroit, the story has a much narrower focus. Were the clear majority of Detroit City Police Officers upstanding in their behavior, with only a few tragic bad apples? Given the choice focus on only a few officers and a select group of citizens, should I assume that these officers' misconduct was the norm or the exception?

Perhaps it was not the filmmakers' intent to answer these questions. Maybe they only wanted to tell this specific story, without greater implications, which is fine. I just personally wanted to see a broader depiction of the city's atmosphere leading up to, during, and following the riots.

The facts, not alternative facts but the facts. Once you have that then the artist comes and tells us, dramatizes, enlightens without distorting the facts. I was sweating when Detroit ended but I needed to go back and check the historical records of the events. The movie is a faithful depiction of the facts with the artistic eye of the amazing Kathryn Bigelow to illustrate them. The film will make you mad, it will desolate you and anger you and force you as an American to ask yourself, how can this possibly be? Detroit as an artistic venture is a marvel with a cast of fantastic actors. Bravo!

Detroit is the latest addition to Kathryn Bigelow's lengthy filmography and it is the most Bigelow-esque film you'd come to expect from her. The film displays raw realism with the actors looking very real and naked from their famous personas. The story is jam packed and while I think this source material would have made a much better miniseries, Bigelow makes the story work with sacrificing some facts for the sake of cinema. The big question is: is it as good as the critics say it is? The answer: No. Not Close. But with that being said, it is a damn good movie that is definitely worth seeing.

Telling the story of three murdered African American men in a motel in Detroit during the city's infamous riots and civil rights movement, Detroit stars an all star cast that is certainly better on paper than they are in this film. John Boyega, Will Poulter, Jason Mitchell, Anthony Mackie, John Krasinski, and on and on-but none of them are really served as a main character. Bigelow is so determined on telling the facts of the case that she sacrifices good performances in order to give us a slice of reality. The film plays out like the most expensive reenactment of a tragedy on Investigation Discovery and, when looking at the facts of the case, this is the best compliment I can give the film. It sounds back handed but it is extremely informative even if it is picking a side in all of it. The one thing Bigelow does best is showing a true story like it is unfolding in front of you. She does it brilliantly in The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, but Detroit is where it is to a fault.

With a 140-plus minute running time and a gaggle of characters to keep track of, the story is just too big for a feature film and requires patience. Despite this, Kathryn Bigelow does her best to tame Mark Boal's bloated script to a digestible film and the results are mostly good. The performances from the actors are real, raw and authentic in every aspect but never enough to burst off the screen. Bigelow lets the events unfold and do that for them. Overall, Detroit is certainly a good film in need of an audience just a very patient one.

As the first film to be distributed and released by Annapurna, Detroit tells the story about what happened during the 1967 riots, specifically the one in Detroit that put the city on the map and drove the population down from its highs back when Detroit was the Motor City. The acting, direction, music, and pace of this movie is well done and should've gotten Oscar love.