Detroit

After two consecutive films about the Iraq War, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal go back in time to another historical event in American history. This is Detroit and where's Robocop when you need him?

The film opens with the police raid on the blind pig that sets off the 12th Street Riot. The National Guard and the Army are brought in when local government fails to keep the peace. One night, the Dramatics, an R&B group, sees their first stage performance cut short by the rioting. Their bus trip out of town is cut short by more rioting and they head off to the Algiers Motel. They meet a few new characters, including Carl (Jason Cooper), who has a starter pistol in hand. He prank shoots another guy then shoots at some troops he sees from a window.

The cops mistake the starting pistol for a legitimate sniper attack. They trace the gun fire to the Algiers and raid the place. A racist creep named Krauss (Will Poulter) is the officer in charge. He and his fellow officers won't rest until the gun is found. They'll use psychological and physical torture of all means to get their shooter. The incident leaves three of the Algiers guest dead and a bad spot in American history.

The raid on the Algiers is the film's most arduous experience. It kicks off at about the fifty minute mark and goes on for almost an eternity. The officers, among other aggravations, take a guest to a secluded room and pretend to shoot them. It gets taxing after the umpteenth time of this. I wondered aloud at one point "how much more of this?" There is next to no relief, which I'm sure is the point, and they really nailed it in. The torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty were much shorter but you got the point.

Please note: The film admits to partaking in dramatic license because the actual facts are sketchy. I'm not making that up. I summed up their disclaimer. Anyway...

The only relief comes when a kindly national guardsman liberates one of the guests from the "death game." He's later found by another cop who takes him to the hospital. There is humanity.

Let's discuss the villain. Will Poulter as Krauss is unlikable from scene one to scene last. His only ounce of humanity comes when he reacts in horror to his partner botching the "death game" by killing a guest ... then he loops it around by planting evidence and shooting another guest in cold blood. I dislike this character.

The best I can say about the acting is that I saw them as characters. A few standouts include Mitchell, Algee Smith as Larry, lead singer of the Dramatics, John Boyega as Dismukes, a security guard who gets involved in the mess and Anthony Mackie as Greene, a Vietnam vet. You really feel for them as the injustices unfold. A few might question why none of the guests came clean about the starter pistol. But perhaps they know the cops won't believe them because they're them. I'm sure it's a persistent sentiment today.

The technical side deserves some credit. Editor William Goldenberg builds up the tension from the very beginning. Together with cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, his work really emphasizes the claustrophobia of the Algiers incident. Sound designer Paul NJ Ottosson does a great job in creating the urban chaos. James Newton Howard's score is strong and the old standards on the soundtrack are memorable.

Detroit is a film that may take time to invite a second viewing. It's technically proficient and deeply resonant, but its centerpiece segment is unendurable by design. It would've been better if the aftermath of the Algiers incident wasn't essentially breezed over in the last part. How did it impact the city other than one more Kangaroo Court? It feels much longer than 143 minutes.