Great but embellished movie

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2019)

I really enjoyed this movie. Yes, the pacing was a little uneven, but the acting was good and the messaging varied nicely between a light touch and a sledgehammer. It had just enough nuance in its main character and part of the storyline to feel real.
That's why I was so disappointed when I learned that one of my favorite parts of the movie - the Jewish detective who hadn't ever thought much about it until he had to deny it - was completely fictional. Props to the writers for scripting something that feels so true to life, but I felt a little lied to when I learned that it wasn't part of the true story.
I liked that the film showed both racist police behavior and police redemption. That issue isn't black and white, and I was nervous about how it would be treated. I thought the balance was healthy.
A lot of people are blasting this film for the montage at the end. I thought it was powerful. I tremble every time I see that footage from Charlottesville, and this was no exception. What's happening in our country that emboldens Neo-Nazis is wrong, and I applaud any film that tackles the moral lesson head-on and refuses to equivocate or make excuses for it.