Detroit (2017)

Posted by Victor R Gibson ⋅ September 24, 2017 ⋅ 1 Comment

Filed Under Algee Smith, Anthony Mackie, D, Hannah Murray, John Boyega, Kathryn Bigelow, Will Poulter

Duration	2h 23m	Rating (UK)	15
Source of story	Based on an actual event during the 1967 Detroit riots.
Writer/s Script	Mark Boal
Director	Kathryn Bigelow
Starring	John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Hannah Murray, Anthony Mackie
Elevator Pitch	During the 1967 Detroit riots the joke use of a starting pistol by an occupant of the Algiers Motel annex results in all the occupants, ten black men and two white women, being rounded up by a group of white policemen. All are systematically beaten and three are shot dead, only the intervention of a black security guard and a National Guardsman limiting the violence.
Content	Newsreel footage of the riots introduces us to the event, which occupies the central act of the film, the sickening violence going on for as long as we can tolerate it. There are also scenes in the police station and in the courthouse, and in the Motown theatre.
A View	Not an easy watch, the extreme length of the film maybe intended to ensure that we are not let off the hook. Be prepared to be distressed. Critics have said that more extensive police brutality and the alienation of the black community is played down. Maybe true, but it is not a documentary.