Detroit Movie Review

You can’t spell Detroit without R I O T…

Kathryn Bigelow wants to take you back fifty years in “Detroit” to see one of the most vicious race riots in America. The fuse had been lit long before that and was smoldering. But an incident where the Detroit police closed down an unlicensed after-hours bar set off the spark. This movie takes a close-up view of the events in that time. It shows a brutal and unfiltered look at the Algiers Motel incident and the aftermath. This was an awful display of racist police brutality and indifference by people who might have stopped it.

After three days of rioting in the streets of Detroit, destruction is widespread. But a new Motown vocal group is about to hit the stage at the Fox Theatre. The police close it down and send everyone home, since more rioting is coming closer.  But not before Larry (Algee Smith) takes a shot a singing to the empty seats. Larry and his friend Fred (Jacob Latimore) head over to the Algiers Motel, hoping that it will be free from disruption. They meet two white girls there at the motel, Julie (Hannah Murray) and Karen (Kaitlyn Dever). They have met some other black guys named Carl (Jason Mitchell) and Greene (Anthony Mackie).

After hanging out in various rooms, Carl takes a starter pistol and says he can shake up the white police and National Guard. He aims the harmless pistol out the window and shoots a few times. The National Guard thinks they are under attack from a sniper at the Algiers Motel. The Guard bands up with the Detroit police and Michigan state troopers to surround the building. They are insisting that they will not leave until a sniper or a weapon has been found. The police patrol is led by Officer Krauss (Will Poulter) who is partnered with Officer Flynn (Ben O’Toole) and rookie Officer Demens (Jack Reynor).

A black security guard named Melvin Dismukes (John Boyega) also follows the other officers inside, thinking that he can defuse the tension. But Krauss is taking no prisoners and all three officers round up all people inside the hotel annex building. Carl tries to run and is shot dead. Every other person there, all the black men and the two white women, get hours of harassment and beatings. Krauss is the bigoted leader and Flynn and Demens follow his lead.

The Michigan state police see the Detroit police abusing people and leave the area. There are some National Guardsmen also inside, attempting to keep order. But when they see that Krauss is out of control, they also leave. Before the end of the night, there are three people dead in the hotel annex, most of the rest are bloodied and beaten. There is never any gun found…

There is a section of follow-up in the last part of the movie. Kraus, Flynn and Demens are charged with abusive behavior and murder. For some reason, Melvin Dismukes is also charged, even though he tried to keep things calm. At the trial, police union Attorney Auerbach (John Krasinski) puts many of the victims under suspicion for their past crimes. An all-white jury found nobody was guilty of anything.

Kathryn Bigelow has (again) made a very moving and profound movie. She and screenwriter Mark Boal also teamed up to make “Zero Dark Thirty”. This time they tackle the historical events of a terrible tragedy. The Detroit riots cause 43 deaths in total, including a few police and firemen. But the big focus here in the inept and racist ways that a few people in authority could destroy the lives of some folks at the Algiers Motel.

The movie is shot with a documentary style, with camera movement tracking closely behind various groups. The tension and the panic and stress are perfectly portrayed. Each situation where a bad decision is made turns into several other worse choices. The entire event seems to spin wildly out of control, with deadly consequences.

Every actor is well-cast and does a superb job. John Boyega and Will Poulter both stand out in the role. Boyega is the small-time security guard in over his head. Poulter is an over-the-top sadistic racist cop who would rather shoot all of them dead. Algee Smith is also convincing as man who wants to be free to sing to the world, yet he is trapped in the worst place ever.

Race relations back fifty years ago could bubble up into hatred and violence. But it has done so again since then; in Los Angeles (1992), then again in Ferguson (2014) and in Baltimore (2015). The movie “Detroit” can never solve the problems of racism and deep internal feelings of rage. Perhaps watching this will give people a chance to reflect, and then talk about it, instead of acting on it.