Detroit

The Summer of 1967! Director Kathryn Bigelow’s torturous assessment of The Motor City Rebellion spurred to life by a police raid on an unlicensed after hours party, where an informant suggests they “make it look good” for the crowd that has assembled outside. What emerges is the worst rioting in a US city since the 1940s (the film was released to coincide precisely with the 50th anniversary of the incident), leading to the Algiers Motel Incident where the Michigan National Guard is fired upon. After a brutal interrogation of the occupants, three black men are killed as systemic racism surfaces. Using the confined space of a hallway as a microcosm of race relations, the film captures the look and climate of the time capsule crisis in precise detail as two entertainers (identified as the originators of the group The Dramatics) and two white teenage girls find themselves caught in the maelstrom of denials from both sides, though the disclaimer at the end admits this incident is based on surviving eyewitness recollections and not concrete evidence. Starring John Boyega as local grocery store security who attempts to protect the victims and Will Poulter as the racist cop in one of most provocative, advantageous films of the year!

[R]