Harrowing and Uncompromising in Its Handling of Unimaginably Sensitive Material

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2020)

Kathryn Bigelow directs this docudrama that depicts a racially charged police raid on an unlicensed club that would begin the infamous 12th Street Riots. Caught in the cross-hairs are a struggling R&B group called the Dramatics and two college co-eds visiting the club for weekend partying. The events unravel in heartbreaking and enraging ways. What would initially begin as a sadistic prank to ward off the co-mingling of the white females and black males leads to uncomprehensibly devastating results for all involved. A truly grim look at these events the picture veers far from sentimentality which keeps it at a clipped pace and allows for more structure surrounding the state of affairs amid the egregious hotel raid.