A dark chapter of the Motor City’s history is revisited in
this searing period drama about the so-called “12th Street Riot” during the
summer of 1967. Director Kathryn Bigelow focuses on the notorious police raid
of the Algiers Motel, which resulted in the death of three unarmed black men
and the brutal beating of several others. There, a trigger-happy cop (Will
Poulter) unleashes a ruthless, demeaning interrogation of hotel patrons,
including a decorated Vietnam vet (Anthony Mackie), two musicians (Algee Smith,
Jacob Latimore), and a pair of prostitutes (Kaitlyn Dever, Hannah Murray). A
security guard (John Boyega) is a key witness to the unfolding horror. Although
not for the squeamish, the graphic portrayal of police brutality is never
gratuitous. Coupled with the subsequent miscarriage of justice, the harrowing
events on screen offer a powerful reminder for mature viewers of a sad but
significant incident in America’s past.
Watch out for: Intense
bloody violence and torture, brief female nudity and pervasive profane and
crude language.
Rated: L, limited adult
audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling;
MPAA: R
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2017