After missing-out on Kathryn Bigelow’s DETROIT (2017) when it made its very brief Australian cinema run, I had the chance to catch-up with it since it made its local Blu-ray release this week. How this film went completely unnoticed by the Academy voters is beyond me. DETROIT is a stark and stunning drama which unfolds during the violent civil rights riots which took place in Detroit in 1967. Focusing on a true incident which saw three teenaged blacks beaten and shot dead by Detroit PD at the Algiers Motel on the night of July 25th, DETROIT is a galvanizing and often immersive experience, as Bigelow and her photographer Barry Ackroyd use cinema verité techniques to take you into the terrifying midst of a street riot, depicting it from the varying eyes of the authorities, the rioters and the innocent people who are often caught in the middle. The use of vintage newsreel footage and crime scene photographs help the film enhance its documentary flavour. The whole cast deliver nice performances but Will Poulter takes the acting honours with his turn as a truly vile and vicious, racist young cop. DETROIT left me feeling drained, shaky, angered and saddened…just the way a movie like this should leave you.
