American Violet (2009)

I was recommended by a friend to watch this film, and it is his reminder to me to watch it first without having perceptions and not to come up with prejudged notions.I did just that.So I watched the film until the end credits, and I understood why my friend asked me not to make assumptions.It is because of the nature of the film. It involves a very delicate subject matter; race. The nature of the film itself will make anybody aligns him/herself to make judgment based on the racial background. And it is hard to be objective about this matter.This film is based on a true story of a colored girl who was wrongly picked up & accused of things she did not do. Instead of taking a plea bargain, she stood up for herself, to ensure her freedom & her children welfare are taken care of.This film featured a newcomer to the film industry, & I think that she did justice to her character; she was believable & were able to make people sympathize with her.What I like about this film is its nature, of prejudging human not based on what he/she did, but based on the color of his/her race.& the fact that in the cultured United States boggles my mind. I mean, this is a county who portrays itself as being at the pinnacle of a cultured world, of being a model country where other countries are forced to look up to.I live in Malaysia; a country blessed with numerous races who shared the country. it consists of many races, mainly the Malays, Chinese, Indians & others.Race is still an issue in this country, especially since the political parties aligned themselves to races, who fight to 'protect & preserve' their respective race. However, they still manage to ensure that racial issues are settled amicably without resulting to civil unrest. & this is a country who got its independence in 1957! So to learn that United States are still finding racial background to be an issue is somewhat intriguing.I seriously hope that the world community will treat each other with respect, regardless of color. Surely the world will be a better place.

Based on a true events, American Violet tells the story of Dee Roberts, played by Nichole Beharie, a young black single mother living in the poor neighbourhood of a small town in Texas. Dee Roberts, whilst life has not been easy for her, lives a model life, working hard, providing for her daughters and going to church on Sundays. Then, one day Dee finds her life turned upside down when she is arrested for drug dealing. Although innocent of the charges against her Dee is railroaded by the legal system and told plead is faced with a choice, accept the plea bargain of guilty and serve a suspended sentence, or fight to prove her innocence and risk 18 years to life. A poor single black mother in a fundamentally racist state she is backed up against a wall.There are a couple of subplots intertwined with the main story, which help to keep it moving smoothly along, they do not distract from the main plot line but neither do they enhance it. Nichole Beharie, is not only stunningly beautiful, but solidly convincing as the true life character Dee Roberts, proof that beautiful women can act and don't rely on looks alone to land roles. There's some good strong supporting roles, all round performances, and nowhere does the film get too carried away with itself that it becomes over the top. Occasionally powerful, for instance some of the scenes involving Dee's child's father and the "deposition scene" had me leaning forward out from my seat. I did feel however, not powerful enough and nothing was made of the tension which would have undoubtedly arisen between Dee and the establishment in such a small town.Although the story is based on true events, centering around Dee Roberts there's room for a more profound thread in the fact that the US legal system is so intractably flawed and combined with a penitentiary system which makes money from incarcerating increased numbers of felons> The US now has 1% (2.6 million) of it's population in prison, substantially higher than any other country in the world and 96% of inmates never stand trial but are forced into accepting plea bargains simply because they neither have the knowledge or the money to fight. Prisons make money from prison labour and the majority of those incarcerated are of black or latino origin, begging the question, has the US penal system simply become a modern day slavery? The film itself does not address this aspect directly, rather it skirts around the edges and attacks the shadow of this institutional racism and corruption not with a sword but a pocket knife. And here lies the biggest problem this film faces, how do you tackle a subject so complex as institutional racism and fit it into a glossy hour and 45 minute Hollywood movie without alienating most of the people you want to pay money at the box office? it's not easy, director Tim Disney, fails to find a solution to that problem electing to go with a non confrontational glossy approach, making me feel that perhaps someone more used to tackling these difficult social issues should have directed American Violet and giving it the punch it so desperately needed. You're left feeling slightly disturbed as you know how very true these issues are, but sadly not disturbed enough. Still, it's worth watching even if only for the delightfully beautiful Miss Beharie.6/10

I just watched this movie and would recommend it to all my friends and family. It is a drama based on a true story that happened in Texas. The movie is not the kind that you can't bring yourself to watch because of too much violence. Excellent performances, especially by the strong women roles, and most especially by the beautiful Nicole Beharie. The movie shows how unfair our legal system can be when the people running the show are biased and full of hatred just because someone is of a different color. I especially loved American Violet because the ACLU fought for justice and Dee Roberts, (Beharie) refused to be beat down by the system into accepting a plea bargain when she knew she was not guilty. She stood up for herself, even though she had to endure harassment and threats, but came out a winner in the end. Justice won! I love those kind of "feel good" stories. I think I'll go out and buy it.

My stomach started to tense about 1/3 into this movie, and never stopped. I was in the GRIP of this story and social situation which was happening in our country only 8 years ago!! Powerfully acted, produced, edited with a message for all ages. I think this film will help to expose some of the terrible crimes we have been perpetrating in this "democracy".This film subtly reveals the passivity of ordinary citizens exposed to a tyrannical local government, who keep their heads down and don't make waves. The cost of taking a stand is life-threatening. There are real heroes who realize that it is better to fight and lose against injustice than to submit and be victimized. The movie has an unusual realism while totally engaging us at the same time. I recommend it to all thinking people who care about tolerance and justice.