Houston, 1917. William Boston (Trai Byers) has just joined the all-black 24th Infantry of the United States Army. As a natural leader, Col. Charles Norton (Thomas Haden Church) quickly promoted Boston within his troop, comprised of his Sergeant, Hayes (Mykelti Williamson), Walker (Mo McRae), Davids (Joseph Lee Anderson), Franklin (Tosin Morohunfola) and others, and is looked up to by the others. When the men are sent to the south, where racism runs rampant in a merciless community, the troop is pushed to their limit. After endless brutal acts of violence, Boston and the men turn their fear and rage against the city, inciting one of the deadliest riots in history.
Others to round out the cast are Aja Naomi King as Marie, Boston's girlfriend, Lorenzo Yearby as Lucky, Cuyle Carvin as Cross, Jim Klock as Capt. Lockhart, Cranston Johnson as Sgt. Clinton, Tony Demil as Tommy Lee, Derek Russo as Evans and Tyshon Freeman as McGhee.
This was intensely directed by Kevin Willmott ("Ninth Street" '99, "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America" '04, "The Battle for Bunker Hill" '08, "The Only Good Indian" '09, "Destination Planet Negro" '13, "Jayhawkers" '14, "Gordon Parks Elementary" (documentary) '16, "The Profit" '17) plus TV and shorts. Willmott certainly stays within the confines of his comfort zone, however, considering how important his films are and what they have to say, this is a good thing. Considering the subject matter of his films, the audience is not seeing them for entertainment, as much as to learn something so when we leave the theater, we can hopefully take his approach and become better people for them, and this film is no exception. He hits the audience between the eyes from every one of his characters. It was written with that wallop effect by Willmott ("Ninth Street" '99, "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America" '04, "The Battle for Bunker Hill" '08, "Destination Planet Negro" '13, "Jayhawkers" '14, "Chi-Raq" '15, "Gordon Parks Elementary" (documentary) '16, "The Profit" '17, "BlacKkKlansman" '18, "Da 5 Bloods" '20) and Trai Byers, all based on true events. With the fact that Willmott is a polished director, he's as talented if not more talented as a writer. His ability to connect the scenes within this film is amazing, although his passion with the subject matter certainly doesn't hurt. I realize that a substantial amount of this film was shot in the dark, however at times, it did come across a bit too dark which made it difficult to see at times. If this is the only thing I can find that's somewhat troubling, this speaks volumes for this movie. I really liked his film, "BlacKkKlansman", because it gave its audience a fresh and original approach on the whole KKK subject matter. Although Byers, has no other writing experience, I'm sure his input was pivotal.
If the films listed above are films that one can sink their teeth into, this will definitely be the film for you. It is a tough sit, but considering what the movie is about, it should be. We have racism still today, and as long as it still exists, there will continually be a place for films like this. Today, with the hostility toward one another, we don't need to be as concerned about foreign enemies since we are fighting each other as Americas. So along with raciest issues, we have conservative and liberal issues as well. Nuff said, you get the picture. This was supposed to be released on 8-21-20, but since the pandemic, it went to video, So, I purchased it and critiqued it for you.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: Not Rated 112mins.
No comments:
Post a Comment