This film is part of Rentals
Monsters and Men
Unravelling the aftermath of a police killing of a black man - and how it affects the lives of three separate individuals. With John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman).
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Overview
Reinaldo Marcus Green's clever and committed drama unpacks the aftermath of a police killing of a black man, telling the story through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer, and a high-school baseball star who's inspired to take a stand.
One night, in front of a bodega in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighbourhood, Manny Ortega (Anthony Ramos) witnesses a white police officer wrongfully gun down a neighbourhood street hustler, filming the incident on his phone. Now he's faced with a dilemma: release the video and bring unwanted exposure to himself and his family, or keep the video private and be complicit in the injustice? With deftness and humanity, director Reinaldo Marcus Green reformulates the traditional construction of the film protagonist, amplifying the power of perspective by focusing on three separate characters. Green tells the story of how the footage affects the lives of three upstanding men - a young father (Ramos) striving to support his new family, an African American cop (John David Washington - BlacKkKlansman) dealing with the fallout of his colleague's mistake, and a star high school athlete (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who becomes politicised by the incident. Each man is very different, but they equally feel the urgency of the question they must all face: should I take moral action or remain safely on the sidelines? Green provokes viewers to ask themselves the same question - while reaffirming the maxim that every act is political.
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