Strong Island (2017)

Young, upstanding black man is murdered and the killer isn't even indicted. Tragedy. Especially when you take into consideration that he was in the process of becoming an officer. And that he had recently tackled a man who'd robbed and shot a man on the street then spent time testifying for the prosecution in that case. A good guy from a solid family. But this movie is just not good. Especially early on, there is so much irrelevant information about the family and long shots of places such as messy bedroom or a home's exterior (notably NOT the deceased's home), that it felt as though the filmmaker was just filling screen time.

Oh, and the filmmaker himself. Yes, his brother died. And yes, it's a miscarriage of justice and he should be very angry. He should not, however, put me in mind of the scene in Broadcast News where William Hurt interviews a woman and takes the time to get a reaction shot of himself crying. And why were we always all up into his face so that we could see his pores when every other interview was at a normal distance? It felt like a way to make himself the focus of the story, which only minimizes the heinous injustice.

D+