By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Gershwyn Eustache Jnr | Jack Lowdenm Sam Spruell | Letitia Wright | Malachi Kirby | Nathaniel Martello-White | Rochenda Sandall | Shaun Parkes
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2020
Running time: 127
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10551100/reference
Part of the Small Axe Amazon Prime series.
Michael says: “The first film of McQueen’s SMALL AXE series explores the landmark 1971 trial that exposed anti-black racism by the London police. When Frank Crichlow opened his restaurant, Mangrove, to serve the Caribbean food native to his family, he never intended for it to become a place where the black community of Notting Hill. Shortly after opening successfully, bringing in friends, family and neighbors alike, the local police force, led by Constable Pulley – who has a particular dislike of black folks getting too uppity — begin to raid the place, looking for violations that do not exist, ignoring proper protocol with no repercussions, and causing the local group of Black Panthers to get involved, first as a place to meet, then as the starting point for a peaceful protest march against the police. When the protest turns violent, nine of the so-called organizers are arrested and eventually tried for riot and affray, a serious crime that could find them jailed for up to 10 years. The defendants include Crichlow, as owner of the Mangrove, Altheia Jones, a member of the Black Panthers, and a pair of activists, Darcus Howe and Barbara Reese, who are concerned because they have a child together and if both are jailed, what will become of him?
“Although the trial is rife with bias, and the injustice and imbalance of power are clearly shown throughout, especially in the courtroom, but through the eloquence of Darcus and Altheia, who represented themselves, and the careful attention to detail and reasoning of the entire defense team, justice of a sorts does prevail. McQueen captures the incendiary moment in civil rights history strongly, and the strong internal friction that emerges is one that makes for some of the most intense drama. Crichlow is not an activist; he is just a man who wanted to run a successful business. He doesn’t want to go to jail, and when his defense attorney suggests he should plead guilty for a lesser sentence, it creates a tense moment between him and Altheia, who has to remind him that this moment is about more than one man, or one restaurant, but a culture, and ideals, many of which we are sadly still struggling against today.
“The screenplay written by McQueen and Alastair Siddons is strong, and I was certainly caught up by the power of this film. McQueen’s direction makes for moments of great tension, whenever the police raid the Mangrove, and moments of calm and quiet reflection. Where I occasionally became distanced from the film was some of the over-emoting of some cast members. I understand the outrage and the intensity of emotion they were supposed to be feeling but some expressed it better than others. Letitia Wright (Shuri from BLACK PANTHER) is the standout among the cast. Her fervor, her commitment, her strength and her fear are all delivered beautifully, in a difficult role that could have gone over the top. Malachi Kirby (FALLEN, Roots) brings dignity and gravity to Darcus Howe, and his convictions and passionate closing speech work beautifully. I found some of the other performances a little bit too much, but that could just be me. Sadly, it did take me out of the film a couple of times resulting in a slightly lower rating. 4 cats“
