"Detroit" revisits a brutal summer of discontent
It's been a long hot summer and the movie, Detroit, is capping it off with a searing portrayal of police brutality in a city that was once thriving, but now striving to rise above the ashes.
In telling this story, Director Kathryn Bigalow seeks to create some order from the chaos which inspired this film. Based on the Detroit riots which took place July 23-28, 1967, Bigelow, uses Mark Boal's script to set the scene for what would begin as a week of looting and fires and end in a night of torture and death at the hands of police officers.
The movie focuses on a night at the Algiers motel, a seeming oasis from a night of violence on the street. A curfew is in place, the National Guard has been called in and Detroit Police are patrolling the streets. For the young people, mostly teenagers, who are staying at the motel, their evening of fun by the pool and potential hook-ups, turns into a nightmare. One of the young men fires off a starter pistol. Police think it's a sniper. They, along with the National Guard, rush to the Algiers, and target the building with a barrage of high caliber bullets, blowing holes through the walls and floors and, eventually, the bodies of three young men. It's been a long hot summer and Detroit is capping it off with a searing portrayal of police brutality in a city that was once thriving, but now striving to rise above the ashes.
Director Kathryn Bigalow seeks to create some order from the chaos which inspired this film. Based on the Detroit riots which took place July 23-28, 1967, Bigelow, uses Mark Boal's script to set the scene for what would begin as a week of looting and fires and end in a night of torture and death at the hands of police officers.
The movie focuses on a night at the Algiers motel, a seeming oasis from a night of violence on the street. A curfew is in place, the National Guard has been called in and Detroit Police are patrolling the streets. For the young people, mostly teenagers, who are staying at the motel, their evening of fun by the pool and potential hook-up, turns into a nightmare. One of the young men fires off a starter pistol. Police think it's a sniper. They rush to the Algiers, open fire blowing holes through the walls and floors and, eventually, the bodies of three young men.
In telling this story, Director Kathryn Bigalow seeks to create some order from the chaos which inspired this film. Based on the Detroit riots which took place July 23-28, 1967, Bigelow, uses Mark Boal's script to set the scene for what would begin as a week of looting and fires and end in a night of torture and death at the hands of police officers.
The movie focuses on a night at the Algiers motel, a seeming oasis from a night of violence on the street. A curfew is in place, the National Guard has been called in and Detroit Police are patrolling the streets. For the young people, mostly teenagers, who are staying at the motel, their evening of fun by the pool and potential hook-ups, turns into a nightmare. One of the young men fires off a starter pistol. Police think it's a sniper. They, along with the National Guard, rush to the Algiers, and target the building with a barrage of high caliber bullets, blowing holes through the walls and floors and, eventually, the bodies of three young men. It's been a long hot summer and Detroit is capping it off with a searing portrayal of police brutality in a city that was once thriving, but now striving to rise above the ashes.
Director Kathryn Bigalow seeks to create some order from the chaos which inspired this film. Based on the Detroit riots which took place July 23-28, 1967, Bigelow, uses Mark Boal's script to set the scene for what would begin as a week of looting and fires and end in a night of torture and death at the hands of police officers.
The movie focuses on a night at the Algiers motel, a seeming oasis from a night of violence on the street. A curfew is in place, the National Guard has been called in and Detroit Police are patrolling the streets. For the young people, mostly teenagers, who are staying at the motel, their evening of fun by the pool and potential hook-up, turns into a nightmare. One of the young men fires off a starter pistol. Police think it's a sniper. They rush to the Algiers, open fire blowing holes through the walls and floors and, eventually, the bodies of three young men.
Among those taking refuge at the Algiers is an up and coming singer, Larry Reed, played by Algee Smith. His debut at the fabled Fox theater is cancelled after police enforce a curfew. He and his friend end up at the Algiers looking for a place to chill and maybe hook-up. They meet a couple of white girls by by the pool, and its their presence among all the young, black men at the motel that seems to add more powder to an already explosive situation. Anthony Mackie, who worked with Bigelow in "The Hurt Locker" joins the cast as decorated Viet Nam vet looking for work. Having been under fire before, he tries to keep calm and keep the rogue officers from pulling the trigger. John Boyega ( Star Wars: The Force Awakens) is an armed security guard who tries, initially, to keep the peace, but ends up being a silent bystander to the brutality inflicted by a trio of officers lead by an off-the-rail beat cop, Philip Krauss, played by British actor Will Poulter.
The events of this terrible night in Detroit, as presented by Bigelow, seem to ripped from today's headlines. Perhaps that's why as I exited the theater, I met a young African-American woman who was crying. She may never have been through something like that herself, but then again, she likely knows it could happen to her or someone she knows.
The events of this terrible night in Detroit, as presented by Bigelow, seem to ripped from today's headlines. Perhaps that's why as I exited the theater, I met a young African-American woman who was crying. She may never have been through something like that herself, but then again, she likely knows it could happen to her or someone she knows.