Direction: David Midell
Country: USA
In his assured sophomore feature film, David Midell chronicles a tragic true story that involved the White Plains police and a 70-year-old African American veteran with mental disturbances and a heart condition. The film counted on Morgan Freeman as executive producer.
When Kenneth Chamberlain (Frankie Faison) accidentally activates his medical alert system, he was far from guessing he would be harassed by a trio of cops - the authoritarian Sergeant Parks (Steve O'Connell), the reasonable officer Rossi (Enrico Natale), and the irascible racist officer Jackson (Ben Marten) - dispatched to perform a routine welfare check on him. As the terrified Chamberlain refuses to open the door of his apartment, the tension escalates and the violence exerted by the policemen goes from psychological to physical. The film makes clear why the police needs urgent reform.
In this case, a simple mistake led to a complex and intolerable situation, which resonates with so many other tragedies related to police brutality in the U.S. With this in mind, and as the film plays out, it’s more than normal to be overwhelmed by anger and the frustration of not having how to stop what is coming. Unfounded suspicions, excessive use of force, and both racial and social discrimination have been commonly associated with police operations.
Aggrandized by Faison’s focused performance, this heart-rending drama film will keep you on the edge of your seat, even when the intended authenticity weakens. This is especially true when it comes to the perplexing interactions between the cops. Yet, most of the film works fine, inviting to a compulsory viewing with dynamics that are easy to read.
