Black And Blue
Ratings: 2/5
Duration: 1 Hrs 48 Mins
Director: Deon Taylor
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Release Date: 08 November, 2019 (India)
Star Cast: Naomie Harris, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Tyrese Gibson, Beau Knapp, Nafessa Williams, Reid Scott, James Moses Black
Plot: BLACK AND BLUE is a fast-paced action-thriller about a New Orleans police officer Alicia West (Naomie Harris) who accidentally captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam.
After realizing that the murder was committed by two corrupt cops, she teams up with one person from her community (Tyrese Gibson) to escape from them, as the cops desperately want to destroy the incriminating footage.
Review: The Taylor’s movie on corrupt cops isn’t exactly fresh on-screen. What is interesting, though, is how the film shows the complexity of black cops navigating a police force known to be corrupt and racist.
The film begins with officer Alicia West (Naomie Harris) getting pulled over and thrown against a fence who was out for a run by white cops, for looking like one of their so-called suspects. Taylor brings us into a narrative that underscores the fact a police badge doesn’t preclude a black person from being profiled and criminalized. The white cops in “Black and Blue” are monstrously racist, murderous and, greedy buffoons. Hence, the scene powerfully sets up the idea that Alicia is caught between the black and the white, the male and the female, the regular folks and the cops world - but the film does very little to make this idea live.
The storyline of racism and the police sadly couldn’t be more relevant. People of colour are needlessly profiled and targeted in cities across the United States, all too often resulting in violence and death. The action is a passable mixture of shoot outs, punch ups and foot chases. For the most part, ideas are baked into the story; it is when the characters stop to explain their motivations and actions, leading to a series of false endings, that “Black and Blue” slogs into the overlong territory.
Naomie Harris, is the strong anchor to hold Black and Blue down. In addition to handling whatever action sequences come her way, Harris also establishes a nice rapport with Tyrese Gibson, who plays Milo "Mouse" Jackson. Gibson gives a refreshingly understated and grounded performance.
The other supporting performances by Mike Colter, Reid Scott, and Nafessa Williams make most of their screen time. And are adequately committed to the film that has potential but ends up being a basic procedural drama with little of the substance to say about the way blackness functions in the relationship between the police and civilians.
Even Grillo and Beau Knapp are convincing in villainous roles, their characters are very one-note, stereotypical dirty cops.
The script is striving to be part of the change and improve society hence prioritizes the conflict between the African American community. Though the film could spark a nationwide debate, it doesn't reinvent any wheels and only skims the surface of its serious subject and eventually devolves into a standard thriller.
In short, good film buried in somewhere between social and racial issues filtered through a tense, taut thriller. Therefore, though the movie does deliver a positive message at the same time, it is a tricky one to recommend.
