Detroit (2017)

Hard to believe this stuff went on, and still goes on in America.Brilliant acting and very engaging movie.

The story is compelling, scary, historical. It depicts very well the state of mind of the US. Violence is their way. They did not change much. Better than Alien, because true.

The riveting drama taking place in 1967 Detroit in the Algiers motel, this film stars various actors including John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Will Poulter and even to my surprise, John Krasinski. This film takes place in the midst of racial tension and tension between the people and Detroit P.D. Depicting various scenes of violence, robbery and the city turning into a complete war zone, amongst the mess then focuses on the Algiers motel where all of the characters come together to set up the main story.The whole cast does a wonderful job depicting their individual characters, there is a backstory that can be seen through the dialogue, demeanor and expression of each character. The feeling that these people are real, genuine people and not characters in a movie. This strong sense of realism translates to this conflict amongst the characters which establishes the main drama of the film very well. The way that the film manages to have such great characters with individual story arcs makes them all the more sympathetic and their motives all the more clear and logical. Even in the case of Will Poulter's 'bad cop' you can understand where he is coming from and he shows certain levels of mercy and there is a very clear thought process that can be seen as an audience through the character's actions and dialogue. Detroit, manages to seem so real, almost to the extent of a documentary and that is precisely what makes the film so successful. Because it exuberates this sense of realism there are stakes that audiences can actually feel genuine emotions, dangers and intensity about. Detroit manages to retell a faithful tale of mistakes, fear, ignorance and pain in its 2 hours and 23 minutes runtime without ever feeling too long or dragged along.

I'm starting to fall in love with her. Zero Dark Thirty is one of the best films of this century and does not get enough credit. Detroit, although not in that league, is still absolutely powerful in every aspect. A film that both informs and thrills the audience of the 1967 Algiers Motel raid in Detroit. An event that is not talked about much, documents and footage of the raid have been scarce and so consequently there are scenarios that are dramatised. This added drama is what prevents Detroit from being a documentary reenactment. It's a clear three act narrative. The first act plays out like a documentary, educating viewers about the riots of Detroit. The second act is the genre shift to a thriller, the motel raid. The third act is the courtroom drama that deals with the legal aftermath. Sure, it's mechanical...but Bigelow directs the heck out of this which is why it feels so raw and powerful. Her directing style is frantic. Constant shakiness and zooming, it involves the viewer...draws them in. An event like this cannot be handled with care and fluffiness. No, it needed to be brutal and Bigelow was the perfect choice. If a film dealing with racism and/or segregation makes me angry inside, it's done its job. If the film does that and engages me throughout its run time...well we have ourselves a home run. Aside from Bigelow being a standout, Will Poulter deserves a lot of recognition. He's come a long way in recent years and believe this is his best performance. John Boyega also gives an understated performance. The violence is savage, but it needed to be. Someone gets hit, you are also going to feel it. My only one criticism is that the ending dragged. When your second act is a thriller, your third act consequently will slow down in pace and unfortunately it slowed down too much. Still compelling, just more at ease. I suspect Detroit will be overlooked during Awards season. It's a shame because this is a powerful important film that has outstanding direction and some strong performances.