The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain powerfully illustrates the tragic consequences of police brutality and racial injustice. Through a poignant portrayal of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.'s wrongful death at the hands of law enforcement, the film highlights systemic issues and the devastating impact on his family and community. It's a heartbreaking reminder of the urgent need for police accountability and justice reform. Such movies are a good reminder of why do education matters the most in these days. This movie has been directed, and acted in an amazing way but at the same time, anyone watching this movie would feel the pain and helplessness of a disable/emotionally vulnerable person. A must watch but I would not recommend this for a faint hearted person.

The duration of the film is 83 minutes and the narration gets straight to the point. And it success to made the audience emotional throughout the film. But I think there should be additional narrative about the development characters here. I'm just tired of bad cops and their victims. It's already hard to watch people hurt because bad cops in real life.

But seriously, if you didn't know the story, you should watch it.

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.

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.

Fine acting by all involved. The film encompassed many genres: dramatic, educational and documentary. A must see for emergency 1st responders and should be discussed in an open forum.

This tragedy could have been avoided with proper training and egos kept in check.