The true story of an incident that occurred at the Algiers Motel
during the 1967 Detroit riots that left three people dead.

BIOPIC/CRIME/DRAMA

Detroit (2017)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

​Written by Mark Boal

Starring John Boyega, Will Poulter, Anthony Mackie,
​Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Ben O'Toole, Jack Reynor,
​Kaitlyn Dever, Hannah Murray, Nathan Davis Jr.

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Connor Eyzaguirre

October 3, 2018

8/10

Detroit is a powerful, frustrating, and ultimately uncomfortable film that tells a true story we all should know every last detail about. Racial prejudice and violence has always been woven into the fabric of American society, and as much as we'd like to tell ourselves we're moving forward, it remains there to this day. In 1967, during the Detroit riots, there was an incident at the Algiers Motel in which armed police harassed, tortured, and murdered several unarmed black men. After going to trial, the three officers responsible were found not guilty and got away with murder. Detroit tells the story of how this horrific night unfolded and why the world should know the truth about it.

The performances are absolutely stellar, particularly Anthony Mackie and Will Poulter, the latter of whom plays one of the most despicable villains in recent years. Poulter is Officer Krauss, the ringleader of the Algiers incident who caused the whole thing. He spends the entire movie threatening and killing unarmed black teenagers, and then smiles when he gets acquitted. It'll be hard for me to see him as anything else now, as this role is now cemented in my mind. The entire cast is stellar, though, and some of these scenes must've been awfully unpleasant to film.

Detroit shows yet another piece of American history that's been swept under the rug and only known to a handful of people. Kathryn Bigelow did a remarkable job bringing this story to the silver screen. The victims deserve to be remembered, and the murderers deserve to be known as what they are. Watching this movie pissed me off more than once, and by the end of it, I was horrified at how broken our system has always been.