The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

It is hard to put into words how I feel after watching this movie. It is a very personal film for me. When I was a teenager, I witnessed a very similar incident of police taking unnecessary measures against a person who should not have been targeted. A very close family friend's son died after he called the police for what he believed was the process of a home invasion. It didn't take long for the police to turn him into the suspect and murder him in front of his disabled father. They did not try to talk to his mother and only told her to step aside. He was a 22 year-old Mexican-American young man. The official police report leaves a lot of details out and his family never got the justice they deserve. His father was a Vietnam veteran, just like Kenneth Chamberlain. Frankie Faison who plays Chamberlain gives an award-winning performance. He draws us in to his vulnerabilities and the traumas that shaped the man he became. After the horrific Rodney King beating and unimaginable George Floyd murder, I feel like most of us have witnessed enough brutality to realize policing must change in America (and around the world). We need more than just police reports. This movie explores a real-life incident in real-time. It captures the difficulties that police officers deal with, but also examines the threats many members of the community feel when they are helpless in police hands. The movie takes us into the internal and external dialogues police have with each other and with themselves. You cannot help but step into their shoes, into a high-intensity situation which requires methodological training. It shows the terrorization we are all feeling -where police and the community are on opposite ends. I can only hope that this movie creates a bridge between us all and opens the doors of dialogue; our cities must do better.

This is a perfect example of what great independent film can be. It takes place in two rooms, but is so well made that you never wish it was opened up. The realtime storytelling makes the heart wrenching story even more effective. Great acting, especially by Frankie Faison, Enrico Natale and Tom McElroy. I hope this film finds a wider audience. It deserves it.

This was a very difficult film to watch, there's no question that there are police all over America that are overzealous, that are drunk with power, who do not use common sense, and who escalate situations for very marginal reasons, oftentimes resulting in fatal encounters that simply did not have to happen, had they exercised more caution, better judgment and been more reasonable.

In my mind there is no question about the fact that police officers need more vigorous training on how to de-escalate situations and this movie presents a very good example of highly ignorant men flexing their muscles and doing something incredibly stupid and killing someone in the process.

This in no way takes away from the vast majority of law enforcement officers who are good cops, who put their lives on the line doing a very dangerous job, and are reasonable and judicious in their decisions.

Greetings again from the darkness. No one denies law enforcement officers have a tough and demanding and risky job. However, with cell phones putting video cameras in the hands of just about everyone, any poor decision by cops ... and certainly any tragic one... is likely to get recorded and then plastered across all media. Writer-director David Midell delivers a dramatized reenactment of a tragic and inexplicable interaction between one man and a team of frustrated cops whose actions proved deadly.

On November 19, 2011, former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain Sr was asleep in his White Plains, NY apartment. He rolled over and accidentally enacted his LifeAid alert pendant. Since he slept without his hearing aids, Kenneth didn't hear Candace, the LifeAid operator, try to reach him. Following protocol, Candace ordered a welfare check. 90 minutes later, Kenneth lay dead - killed by police after they broke down his front door. The tension during that 90 minutes is nearly unbearable.

Frankie Faison ("Banshee") gives an excellent and gut-wrenching performance as Chamberlain. We 'feel' everything he says. As he talks to the cops through the door, we learn he has a heart condition, as well as a mental health issue (likely bi-polar). His constant pleas of "leave me alone", "I'm fine", the alarm "was an accident", and "you're not coming in" all heighten the sense of impending doom he feels. We feel it too. His experience tells him to expect something to go wrong anytime the police are involved.

The three cops banging on his door are Sergeant Parks (Steve O'Connell), Officer Jackson (Ben Martin), and Officer Rossi (Enrique Natale). Jackson is the racist, hot-headed gum-smacking cop (blond of course) who has judged Chamberlain simply by the demographics of the run-down complex he lives in. Rossi is the empathetic rookie cop who has a feel for the pressure Chamberlain is under, and his attempts at preaching patience are shot down by the more experienced cops. Parks has little time for Rossi's cuddly approach or Jackson's on-edge nature, but he's not appreciative of Chamberlain's refusal to cooperate, and certainly can't relate to his distrust of the badge.

Midell's film has been well received at film festivals the past couple of years, and his 'real time' approach coupled with the performances and the claustrophobic setting (it all takes place in Chamberlain's apartment and the stairwell outside his door) work to give us a feel for the emotions and nervous energy of the situation. Throughout the ordeal, Chamberlain communicates with Candace at LifeAid and his own family on his cell. The opening quote tells us that depending on who you are, the sight of a police officer could mean "safety" or "terror". This film relays the latter, and the actual audio and photos over the closing credits prove this horror film was unbearably true. "This is my home" was not enough for Kenneth Chamberlain. One small quibble: Chamberlain's hearing aids come and go through the film.

In select theaters and VOD on September 17, 2021.

How was this film not promoted by Hollywood, the media & the whole entertainment industry?!

I came across it scrolling through Amazon Prime so found it by chance, which i find to be a ridiculous way to find a film as well made & educating.

I say educating as it teaches the viewers how corrupt the American policing & justice systems are. They sent in an armed tactical force to "welfare check", a 70 year old Bio-polar Veteran with a heart condition, not opening his door! The frightened him. Tried to bully him then shot him but were not charged with any crime & kept their job!

Well done to all involved in the making of the heartbreaking, hatd to watch film.

7/10.