Detroit (2017)

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2020)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Starring John Boyega, Will Poulter, Jacob Latimore, Algee Smith, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Nathan Davis Jr., Ben O'Toole, Jack Reynor, Anthony Mackie, Peyton Alex Smith, Malcolm David Kelley, Joseph David-Jones. (R)
Searing period drama detailing events during the 1967 Detroit riots, especially the Algiers Hotel incident where local law enforcement assaulted several young men and women, resulting in multiple deaths. Bigelow's intense, up-close filmmaking style makes this a grueling experience, exhausting at length, even numbing, but ultimately the sort of visceral experience that overlooks nuance and depth in order to hammer home an effective emotional response. Because the characterizations are so defined by in-the-moment action and individual-as-community representation, there isn't always a sense of background and internal motivation that might have explained specific behavior, reaction, attitude or accountability; the audience is forced to make their judgments based on knowledge of historical context and personal opinion. Well-acted by a talented cast despite the shallowness of the personas they inhabit; as propaganda of outrage, though, the film is a startling one that should linger uncomfortably.
75/100