Prepare to get angry... Very, very angry...

Rating: 8/10 (10 August 2017)

Anyone who knows anything about Eminem knows that Detroit is an American state that is pretty f*cked up. The state has been known for its constantly turbulent financial situation, and even going bankrupt in recent years. However, one of Detroit's most notorious moments in history is arguably the race riots of 1967, to which Kathryn Bigelow's new movie takes place. Finishing off her unofficial gritty war film trilogy, Bigelow brings the war to the streets, focusing on one particular night and event during the 1967 Detroit race riots, the Algiers Motel incident. Bigelow delivers on her unflinching, documentary/ Paul Greengrass style of filmmaking, in what is probably her most traumatic film to date.
The film begins with an animated montage of exposition to explain how black people came to live in Detroit, and why they eventually rioted. At first, I thought I was watching a short film before the actual film started, as the colours and animation style completely clash with Bigelow's gritty directing style and tone. Alas I was not, the animation was the intro to Detroit and immediately got me thinking "this could've been done better." The animation, although good, doesn't fit and is far too short to really deliver on the exposition it aimed to convey, leaving me still unaware as to why the riots actually started. We then cut to a celebration at an all black, unofficial bar, to which gets raided by police and riots soon ensue. Further research revealed that this bar was created due to the poor treatment of black people in normal bars, so they made their own, and when that got shut down it became the straw the broke the camels back. Detroit could've and should've introduced the film this way, with the facts behind how the riots started. What we get is a nice animation, but one whose purpose is rather weak, and Bigelow can do better than what she offers here.
We are now thrown into the riots and lives of people within Detriot, both cops and citizens. Bigelow has an obvious bias towards African Americans, and against the police in this film. This bias has been seen to be rather unpopular and controversial, but Bigelow is no stranger to making controversial statements in her films, 2013's Zero Dark Thirty heavily suggested that the American military used torture as an interrogation method during the hunt for Bin Laden. In Detroit, the actors who play black citizens are presented as everyday people, while the cops are presented as horror villains/monsters. Bigelow's direction, as well as Mark Boal's script, brilliantly portray the cop characters as evil, frightening and inhuman beings that even you are fearful of. Ultimately, I attribute the scare factor of the cops to the actor's outstanding performances, especially Will Poulter who utterly shines in this film. The entire cast is excellent as an ensemble, John Boyega, Algee Smith are also outstanding, however, it is Will Poulter as the racist brute, Krauss that steals the show in this film. Having previously made a name for himself in comedy with films such as We Are The Millers, seeing Poulter in such a disturbing role excellently exhibits his acting range with this extremely drastic juxtaposition of roles.
The film mainly revolves around an hour or so long sequence, the Algiers Motel incident. Bigelow cranks up the tension in this film and does not turn it down, with help from a script that feels, for the most part, natural, and an absolutely astonishing cast. Bigelow's documentary style makes you feel you are actually watching this horrific event happen, that coupled with some of the most uncomfortable acting to ever witness, Detroit feels less of a cinematic event and more of a traumatic one, to which this was back in 1967. You feel this has been documented and not filmed or particularly staged, as what you witness will disturb you and leave a lasting imprint, I have to say that the one word that best describes this film is; traumatic.
Although Kathryn Bigelow is a great filmmaker, she does tend to overuse hand-held camera in her films, and Detroit is possibly Bigelow's worst use of the technique. The technique is again overused and so too is zooming, which are not film techniques held in high regard. Detroit reaches stupidly bad levels of shaky cam and zooming as some shots, albeit very few, literally lose the subject of the shot altogether, take note of the Fred going to work scene. As well as this, John Boyega's character seemed almost fictional as he simply does nothing in this film, however, due to the reality of his character, I can understand this is probably close to what actually happened.
Finally, the film's biggest issue lies in its lack of context and general information. The film offers a very obvious and strong bias, hell the script even features ham handed dialogue from other cops saying things like; "Who could do something like this?" when we all know it's the Detroit police. Alas, this film has some rather large plot holes and/or areas to question. The film even states at the end that they don't know for sure what happened, which feels like the film is chickening out of it full on onslaught of Detroit's police force. The film does pick up on enough evidence that would convict these cops in today's far less, openly racist society, however, it equally has enough holes within it to get that evidence dismissed. Although I personally believe this film is close to the truth, if exaggerated, you can't however, ignore the flaws.
With excellent acting, a decent script and great directing, Detroit is an unflinching and frankly, traumatic film. Detroit does have its flaws and plot holes, but so too did people's recollections of the Algiers incident. This film will enrage you, but that reaction in itself proves the film has serviced its purpose, to provide a form of justice for the people who got none.