ebert_jr
Joined Oct 1999
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews117
ebert_jr's rating
Let's just dispense with the obvious:
-Great script -Great acting -Great direction -Great score -Great locations, small town -Great intersection of racial and class dynamics with story elements
This film has everything, a perfect antagonist/protagonist balance, with a lead actor who is stealthly and steely cold but with integrity and with honor.
What made this film special is how the writers interwove themes of disenfranchised persons fighting the system, one where the dynamics of race and class are leveraged and act as a catalyst for the momentum of the plot. There is a very smartly done ironic counter balance here between the town's corrupt police department which has one "token" black police officer who is stuck behind a desk (and has been gaslit into believing it's for her benefit) and the honor and code of the USMC who similarly held back our black protagonist - only in his case, it was to recognize and tap his special gifts to train the troops in martial arts.
The historical underlining of a disenfranchised poor white woman (who has had their child torn away from her for a theft while fighting drug demons) helping a black man is a shoutout to the civil rights era in neon lights. Ditto for the role of the court clerk and "Serpico", one of the corrupt police force's officers who previously turned states evidence from a case of police brutality that ended up overhauling the small town's policing methods (or so they thought).
Some have compared this to a "Black Reacher". I think that's a fair comparison but this movie was better in almost every way - better acting, better directing, aspects of indie film making, also neo noir stylized scenes, etc. Don Johnson plays a very convincingn lead antagonist - he's usually played the good cop in other movies or tv productions, not here. His role makes me long for his role in Dennis Hopper's 'Hot Spot' from the early 90s (totally different film but with that same neo noir vibe).
I loved this movie. And it made me cry to be honest. For the first time in my life the era of civil rigths just *clicked* in my mind for me and i've started questioning some choices in general.
-Great script -Great acting -Great direction -Great score -Great locations, small town -Great intersection of racial and class dynamics with story elements
This film has everything, a perfect antagonist/protagonist balance, with a lead actor who is stealthly and steely cold but with integrity and with honor.
What made this film special is how the writers interwove themes of disenfranchised persons fighting the system, one where the dynamics of race and class are leveraged and act as a catalyst for the momentum of the plot. There is a very smartly done ironic counter balance here between the town's corrupt police department which has one "token" black police officer who is stuck behind a desk (and has been gaslit into believing it's for her benefit) and the honor and code of the USMC who similarly held back our black protagonist - only in his case, it was to recognize and tap his special gifts to train the troops in martial arts.
The historical underlining of a disenfranchised poor white woman (who has had their child torn away from her for a theft while fighting drug demons) helping a black man is a shoutout to the civil rights era in neon lights. Ditto for the role of the court clerk and "Serpico", one of the corrupt police force's officers who previously turned states evidence from a case of police brutality that ended up overhauling the small town's policing methods (or so they thought).
Some have compared this to a "Black Reacher". I think that's a fair comparison but this movie was better in almost every way - better acting, better directing, aspects of indie film making, also neo noir stylized scenes, etc. Don Johnson plays a very convincingn lead antagonist - he's usually played the good cop in other movies or tv productions, not here. His role makes me long for his role in Dennis Hopper's 'Hot Spot' from the early 90s (totally different film but with that same neo noir vibe).
I loved this movie. And it made me cry to be honest. For the first time in my life the era of civil rigths just *clicked* in my mind for me and i've started questioning some choices in general.
I agree with what somebody else said - this movie really did make me cry (as an adult).
I can remember watching it on a sunny afternoon, my wife and kids were out and I was all alone and for some reason it really resonated with me, even as an adult male. At the time, I was about 40, I'm 56 now. I still think about the film's vivid realism and characters, it's very touching story and some of the adult themes that these kids had to go through.
I don't know if I would say it's for kids necessarily, I certainly don't think it was a movie kids should avoid. Probably best viewed with their parents.
I also want to call out the score of this film which or soundtrack which was masterful. I think about the music as much as the movie sometimes.
Overall this movie was a glorious distraction from a sunny afternoon all alone at home and it was a sad tragic tale but with believable characters beautifully portrayed by young actors and a backdrop that was beautiful. I saw it around the same time as I saw the very different but equally good fil 'Sideways', two powerful films viewed during those times.
I can remember watching it on a sunny afternoon, my wife and kids were out and I was all alone and for some reason it really resonated with me, even as an adult male. At the time, I was about 40, I'm 56 now. I still think about the film's vivid realism and characters, it's very touching story and some of the adult themes that these kids had to go through.
I don't know if I would say it's for kids necessarily, I certainly don't think it was a movie kids should avoid. Probably best viewed with their parents.
I also want to call out the score of this film which or soundtrack which was masterful. I think about the music as much as the movie sometimes.
Overall this movie was a glorious distraction from a sunny afternoon all alone at home and it was a sad tragic tale but with believable characters beautifully portrayed by young actors and a backdrop that was beautiful. I saw it around the same time as I saw the very different but equally good fil 'Sideways', two powerful films viewed during those times.
Damsel was Netflix's redemption, with strong female lead and nary a hint of woke bs! Classic story telling. Perfect for young viewers and beautiful sets, cgi, great acting and solid story. I loved every second.
The story was simple, yes, but it was the execution and attention to detail that matters here... Characters were classic antagonist and protagonist leads, with dragon mythos and a Shakespearen feel. The castle and background geography contributed to a realistic story landscape that fused drama with place and purpose. I can't wait to have my daughters watch this film, at its heart it's a young person's movie.
The story was simple, yes, but it was the execution and attention to detail that matters here... Characters were classic antagonist and protagonist leads, with dragon mythos and a Shakespearen feel. The castle and background geography contributed to a realistic story landscape that fused drama with place and purpose. I can't wait to have my daughters watch this film, at its heart it's a young person's movie.