(Yes, the title of the post is specifically a Talking Heads reference.)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written by Mark Boal
Cast: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Jack Reynor, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben O’Toole, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie, Joseph David-Jones, Laz Alonso, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Chris Chalk, Jeremy Strong, Samira Wiley, Tyler James Williams, Amari Cheatom Karen Pittman, Chris Coy, Frank Wood
Soundtrack: James Newton Howard
Despite my unpopular opinion that Point Break is overrated, and despite the fact that I have seen neither The Hurt Locker nor Zero Dark Thirty (and probably won’t anytime soon; my reasons are my own), it is my considered opinion that Kathryn Bigelow is generally a high-quality filmmaker, and Detroit is another high-quality film.
She’s done multiple period pieces before, fictional and factual alike (The Loveless and K-19: The Widowmaker, respectively), and as Detroit is her third consecutive collaboration with screenwriter (and former journalist) Mark Boal, it’s clear her last two films have some influence on the present, but if you’ve ever seen 1995’s Strange Days (which, judging by the box office numbers, you probably haven’t), you know she’s no stranger to the topics of racial tension, sprawling urban violence, and police brutality (it may sound crazy because Strange Days is a sci-fi film and not a true-life story, but I think there are parallels nonetheless; it’s also shockingly relevant more than two decades later).
Detroit is a dramatized account of the Twelfth Street riot that shook the city fifty years ago (one of the most devastating of that Long Hot Summer), sometimes mixing in real footage amidst the reel footage, with a specific focus on the Algiers Motel incident, those involved, and the aftermath.
Like anything that even touches on hot-button issues these days, I think this film will piss people off in both directions, for “going too far” or “not far enough”, but I’ll tell you, as a movie, it works exceedingly well. For a film with a nearly two-and-a-half hour runtime, there was only time where I thought to myself, “Oh no, this is lagging; please don’t lag,” but I can’t even remember what the moment was because everything afterward just flew by.
This is not to say that Detroit is a “fun watch” (there’s a sprinkle of diffusive humor here and there, more towards the beginning, but by-and-large it’s straight ahead). It’s a deadly serious film about deadly serious subject matter, but it’s undeniably compelling, even darkly hypnotizing at points. This is largely thanks to the high grade of performances across the board.
I may as well highlight John Boyega and Will Poulter because I think they get the most screen-time and do a great job (no bad accents here either), but the well runs deep. There are so many newcomers that I can’t even keep up, but I can’t recall anybody doing anything to take me out of what I was watching, which, for a large cast in a long, intense (and I do mean INTENSE) movie, is quite impressive. The fact that everybody is so young is pretty mind-blowing as well.
On another note, it’s no secret how much I’m over the neo-vérité, Paul Greengrass-esque style of shooting and editing, which I was somewhat concerned about when I saw Barry Ackroyd’s (cinematographer) name attached to this film, but it’s fairly reigned-in; certainly a far cry from Jason Bourne in terms of headache inducement. I’m still taking points off for shooting a period piece digitally instead of on film, but, at least I didn’t get car sick.
Lastly, not that I’m an expert, but the production design feels impressive as well. I can’t say if everything was perfect (especially since not everything was shot in Michigan on account of the state’s film tax credit being phased out), but, much like the cast, there was nothing that took me out of the movie.
As I’ve said, political satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) aside, Detroit is a tremendous dramatic work, and, despite the age of the story (in a similar-but-different way to Dunkirk), it still has things to tell us today.
Just don’t expect a happy ending.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)